Cloudbursting
by Hardman 5509
Summary: A heavy and near endless rainstorm forces two lonely people to come together. The rare pairing of Ino x Tsunade is for the Femslash Big Bang 2015 jam on tumblr.
1. Chapter 1

If the window were a living creature, it would surely be drowned by now thanks to the endless torrent of heavy rain. The reports said it would last for a long time, possibly even over the period of the entire fall season, with little breaks of just heavy grey clouds hanging above the soaked village. Flood warnings were in full effect. Ino would look out her window to spot some poor souls running from cover to cover to make their way through the wet streets. Sometimes a rather stupid person would come by and make Ino's day by doing something profoundly dumb and entertaining.

But while the village had been trapped in their houses without much choice, Ino had been doing long before the rain came in. Following the end of the war, she lost a great deal of interest in the outside world. She only left the house to go out and do necessary chores, and not very often would she run into friends and chat for more than a few minutes at a time. Ino hadn't taken on any new missions as of late either. She rarely left her own room; only for meals or for chores. Her mother expressed worriment at her daughter's new shut-in lifestyle. Ino continued to stay in her room, hugging the windowsill.

What brought this on? Her father's death still hanging above her head? The terrors of war still haunting her dreams? Feelings of inadequacy over her skills not advancing as well over the others? Maybe she just bored of her life and her friends?

Regardless of the cause, she needed a solution. Ino didn't want to stay this way anymore. She needed the energy to leave first, regardless of weather! No manner of exercise or eating good food could pick Ino back up onto her feet and motivate her to going outside on her own time. Looking into her mirror, Ino could see she had at least gained five pounds, became even whiter in skintone, and lost some muscular mass. At this point, she couldn't partake in doing Missions higher than Rank D.

It had only been a few hours following lunch, but Ino already felt like turning in for the day. Might as well. Ino let her legs give away for her body to fall into bed. She hadn't thought of anything she could do to get her outside. She wouldn't mind the rain; she would go out there with a good umbrella and run like mad through the rain. Ino would hit all the still-open restaurants that served hot food and gorge herself, maybe even treat her friends to the meal, maybe even offer to come over to their places and escort them over with her own umbrella! They would shake off all the water like dogs once inside…

Ino jumped when a series of loud thumps came from below her; specifically at the front door. She decided to ignore it and let her mother get instead. The raps got louder and stronger a few seconds later. Realizing that her mother might be either asleep or out getting groceries, Ino had no choice but to get the door herself. Grunting as she moved her lazy bones out of bed, she took her time going down the stairs. The pounding grew more and more impatient. Ino ran towards the door and threw it open.

"About time!" The drenched Hokage coarsely got out. "Were you planning on leaving me to drown in the rain?!"

"Tsunade?" A very detached Ino asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here…" Tsunade sighed as she hung up her soaked coat on the rack and kicked off her shoes. The garment had become a cloud in itself; raining down water onto the wooden floor and started to form puddles. "...to get something from your mother about the Allied Mothers…thing…and to drop off something important." She reached into the inside her coat and pulled out a long envelope. Going by the size and the bulge of the item inside, Ino picked up fast the contents of the package, but kept her body rigid without betraying her emotions.

"I would help you with that thing, but I don't know what my mom does with that Allied Mothers Force." Ino shook her head before a yawn escaped from her lips. Great, a guest comes over and now she actually feels tired. Tsunade shuffled over to the couch and sat down, with the envelope sitting next to her. "Do you want some tea, or like a snack?" Ino then asked. "I think my mother stepped out…"

"Anything hot will do." Tsunade waved off before putting her hands inside of her pants pocket for warmth. "Soup, chilli, curry…" She rambled on before letting loose with a long groan. Ino walked into the kitchen and decided to make good use of those cheap pasta bags her mom bought in case they became trapped in their house. Took about five minutes to make, so might as well serve the tea while we'll wait…

"Shizune has been on my back big time…" Tsunade sighed after taking a few sips of the tea. "…she wants me to take it easy, just do paperwork all day or hand the job over to Kakashi." She groaned as she slammed the cup down onto her plate, nearly shattering both. "I'm still capable of doing my job. I can interact with the townspeople, resolve situations both with violence and/or peace, and I'm willing to deliver important mail in the middle of a terrible rainstorm!"

Ino felt like pointing out that the last thing wasn't a good thing really, but she didn't want to argue with the powerful Hokage inside of her own home. "About that envelope…" She started to ask about.

"Oh." Tsunade resigned before reaching over and opening the envelope with a trembling hand. As Ino predicted, indeed the contents were that of a torn and messy head-protector baring the symbol of their village. Ino started to hug herself voluntarily. It was fairly obvious who it belonged to. Tsunade didn't need to say anything more, she reached over and handed Ino the headband. Ino took it and held it close to her. She could pick up the faint smell of bush clover. No doubts. "We're going to be renaming the new HQ in honor of him and Shikamura's father…are you okay with that?"

"Yeah." Ino gripped the headband tight. "Yeah."

"We don't have to if you feel it would…"

"I'm fine with it, really." Ino pushed out. "Go ahead."

Tsunade didn't go further than that and went quiet. With the timer going off, Ino got her escape and went off to get Tsunade's meal. Mixing up the noodles, Ino really stopped thinking all together. Her head felt empty and yet she felt fine; no dizziness or nausea. Her stirring slowed down and she ended up getting the spoon stuck in the solidifying noodles. Still she managed to deliver the bowl to Tsunade without dropping it or putting the meal in the flowerbed. But without any more words, Ino went back to her room and collapsed onto the bed.

Minutes became hours and hours turned into minutes. Ino went into a delusional world where she lost all track of time and all sense of the physical world. Drifted off into a inky blackness with no escape. This felt good. No need to think, no need to feel, no need for anything but for her to forget the world around her…

…for a actual period of about three minutes when her mother called for her loudly. Ino once more grunted out of bed. As she went downstairs, she could see both Tsunade and her mom talking, but the attention became fixated on her when the two heard the stairs creaked. "Ino?" Her mother asked. "Are you feeling all right?" When Ino tried to say otherwise, her mother then filled in, "Tsunade-sama said you were looking a little pale…and don't say you're fine."

"Tsunade delivered dad's headband." Ino came out bluntly. Her mother then gasped. Obviously Tsunade wanted to break the news solemnly like with Ino. Based on Tsunade's disapproving scowl and her mother's sobbing, Ino did something wrong. But not being a complete terrible person, Ino quickly apologized. "Sorry."

Tsunade consoled Ino's mother with more gentle words and pats on the back. Ino ignored this and decided to go back upstairs and stay in her room as a form of self-punishment. For the third time today, she slammed her body onto her bed and just resigned herself back into the imaginary world of nothing. But she didn't completely go into it; knowing full well that someone would come up and confront her on it. That, and the storm outside got so loud she couldn't push it out of her head. Rolling over to face the door, she counted off imaginary seconds until the door swung open and in came her mother.

"Ino." She sighed. "I understand you still hurt…" Her mom crossed one arm over and rubbed her bicep up and down. "…we will have a talk later, after Tsuande-sama leaves." Ino weakiy nodded. "Which be later. Look outside." Her mother pointed over to the window. Despite not feeling like moving at all, Ino managed to pull herself up and look outside. The sight below amazed her enough to get her to open her eyes wide. The entire street was flooded up to five inches of water. The street had become a raging river! While a ninja could cross it without any problems, they would end up flooding whatever room they chose to escape from. Ino worried the window might break from all the pressure.

"I'm guessing Tsunade is going to stay?" Ino asked to confirm.

"Yes…" Ino's mother sighed. "You mind if she sleeps in here? Our guest room has a leak…" Ino shook her head in agreement. Her mother then silently left the room, closing the door behind her. Ino jumped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling.

So, the Hokage is going to stay for a while? It could be a few hours, the rain could shift again and the streets would be less of a hassle to swim through. Or it could last several days with the ongoing weather and Ino's decreasing amount of luck. Maybe even over a week's time. Good thing they stocked up.

As the rain continued to beat down above her, Ino wondered just how things will change with a legendary sanin in their household…


	2. Chapter 2

Two days passed…no letting up of the rain and no chance of escape. The gardens of the village must be all drowned by now. If Ino could actually see out the window now, she would have seen all of the uprooted plants floating down the streets and all the produce smashing open whenever they hit a wall or some standing object.

The three ladies stuck inside were keeping themselves busy to avoid going crazy all trapped inside. Board games and cards were broken out, Ino's mother cooked a lot to use a lot of the spare ingredients, Tsunade shared stories about her past, and Ino just staid in her room. She already heard all of Tsunade's stories and all the variations that could out of a drunk Tsunade's mouth. She came down when called upon or when food was ready. Ino really had no reason to go downstairs. Daily chores weren't required, so she felt no need to leave her room to hang around.

So her mother had to trick her into joining them into a board game. Cherry tomatoes salad? Despite previous establishments made by both her mother and herself that they ran out a few days ago and the weather delaying shipments for all the stores in the village? Ino should have known better. Now she had to play to the end of this stupid game. Plus her mom took the best piece; the ninja scroll!

To be fair, Tsunade seemed to be annoyed as well. Not because Ino's mother was winning by a mile in both monetary value and number of properties owned, but rather because she felt a little too old to be doing this. Legenary Sanin, the Sage of Slugs, a great and powerful leader, and savior of the world a few times over…currently playing a game meant to keep kids from ages eight to fourteen occupied and behind the other three players. Little money left, properties too far spread out, and constantly on the verge of ending her game if she was off by one number on her dice roll. Ino could see the fury building up in Tsunade's face, though she hid it with a small smile and making few comments.

"And three." Ino's mother stated. She tapped the piece along the board towards the last unclaimed property on the board. "And I claim this land for me." She reached under the board and grabbed ten thousand ryo to buy out Manē Jigoku Avenue. "Sorry if any of you land on this." She added after a short chuckle. Seeing as she had plenty of money left over, she placed two houses on the space and it's sister property. Tsunade clicked her tongue, seeing how close she stood next to the space and the other danger areas. Ino knew that Tsunade was coming close to the end of her rope, and the end of the entire game as well; Ino didn't have enough money or property to keep going much further herself. She could buy out all of Tsunade's properties after she left, but that would leave her without much money to survive landing on any of her mother's lands. And letting her mother get those titles would only make the board even more trap-riddled then ever before.

"My turn…" Tsunade muttered before grabbing the dice. But before she could roll them, a timer went off in the kitchen. Ino's mother jumped up to go get dinner; chicken noodle soup. "Hey, Ino." Tsunade whispered over to Ino as soon as third member of their group went out of earshot. "Do you mind if I just set the dice down on five?" She pointed five spaces ahead, showing it to be a safe point for her.

"Sure, go ahead." Ino blankly stated. Tsunade first rolled the dice to make the obvious noise and then silently tilted the dice over to the five-dotted side. "That gives you only one extra turn before you roll over dead."

"Might as well try." Tsunade shrugged. "There's always a chance I can pull off a return and win in the end." And with a confident smile, she relaxed her posture as she moved her piece over to the safe spot. "If I can get Banraku Road, I can use my remaining money to set up a house there that will earn me a great deal of money…enough for me to save me if I dared land on one of your mother's wretched…lovely spaces!" Tsunade swapped out whatever she was going to say when she saw Ino's mother walk back in.

"All fair's in love and war, Hokage-sama." Ino's mother shook her head and pointed back to the kitchen. "Dinner's ready…go ahead and get yourselves served…" She quickly scurried down the hall towards the bathroom. Looking at a big pot of boiling soup after playing a game for three hours straight must have taken a toll on her old bladder. Ino jumped up and went to get some nourishment after being locked in this game. Feeling a bit greedy, she took the biggest bowl (Meant for serving salads whenever the Yamanakas had guests over) and filled it up ¾ before carefully taking it back to the living room with a towel wrapped around the glass bowl and setting it down on the stand in between the two couches.

"Hungry?" Tsunade then asked with a sly smile. "You haven't really eaten all day."

"Hmmph." Ino replied as she started to shovel in spoonful after spoonful of soup. Simple, yet so delicious! Kinda made the fact they stuck in the house and her being forced to play a dumb game almost worth it. Almost. She knew if she took her bowl up to her room, she would only be dragged back downstairs again. But regardless of where she went, her mother would call her out for using the salad bowl.

…honestly, she was expecting to taste a little bit of tomatoes by using this bowl.

"Ino, you want to talk?" Tsunade sighed as she got up and went to the kitchen to get her own bowl. "You can't be like this all the time!" She called from the kitchen.

"Watch me." Ino muttered under her own breath. She didn't really mean it, but she didn't want to talk about it nor try to get help from people. This was her problem, she is a grown woman, she's going to solve this problem on her own. Besides, Tsunade is the Hokage and should be focusing on the village on the whole rather than just a single individual.

"Well…" Tsunade cleared her throat as she came back in without a towl, trying to balance the bowl using both her thumbs and index fingers to balance the hot bowl. "…a lot of things have happened over the past year, and there's been plenty of people suffering PTSD from the war. Naruto and even Sasuke have seen me…"

Before Tsunade could go into the whole spiel about war and the effects on their heroes and such, she let out a distinct cry of pain and dropped the bowl straight down. Ino's mind went into overdrive as she took her towel and dive to save the soup bowl from falling to the floor and letting the contents stain the couch. Both women were rather surprised by this fast save. Ino slowly got up and handed Tsunade the safely wrapped bowl.

"Thanks!" Tsunade whistled. "That's a impressive dive!" She chuckled as she set the bowl down safely on a stand. "…consider joining a baseball team? You would be a great base-runner!"

"Yeah." Ino sighed and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. She went back to her seat and resumed her soup-shoveling. Soon, she emptied the bowl and found herself with a churning stomach. Too much broth, not enough noodles and meat. Must be punishment from above for using the salad bowl. At least she doesn't have to do any physical labor, just wait in place for the game to continue.

The game continued without Ino's mother realizing Tsunade's cheat. Ino silently watched as Tsunade rounded the bend over next to the place she wanted the most. Banraku Avenue laid three spaces ahead, but following that laid the lands of Mrs. Yamanka and her mighty villages of high taxes. If Tsunade landed on Banraku, she could buy it…but it would leave her with little money left, not enough to survive landing on ANY occupied space. By the looks of it, she would need the three and then a five to escape to the war chest space. And then there's the chance the war chest card would force Tsunade to a insta-lose space. Ino couldn't help but think that Tsunade should have gracefully accepted defeat.

Tsunade was never good at gambling, everyone knew that! Blowing on the dice and shaking them for a few seconds would only…roll a three?

Tsunade sighed out a breath of relief as she hopped ahead to Banraku Avenue and promptly handed over the money needed for the card. Ino's mother, with a large and thick grin, took the money and handed Tsunade her card. Ino took the dice and tossed them, silently cursing as a four came up. Her own mother didn't even need to ask, Ino handed over the last bit of her own money, leaving her with only the mostly useless ones. She wasn't really playing to win, but her mother's demonic grin was telling her otherwise.

After another uneventful roll by her own mother, Tsunade had to roll again. Perhaps if she landed this roll properly and didn't get a bad card, she would have a chance of a comeback. Ino's mother would come close to landing on Tsunade's area, and that would give enough money to Tsunade to afford a comeback.

Ino expected nothing…save for the comeback of a lifetime.

Five dots on the die. The card pushed her back to the start with extra money in tow. Ino's mother landed on Tsunade's space…twice. Ino landed on it once, and she forfeited the game, knowing that she wouldn't be able to recover from this. But unable to leave the living room until the game ended, she watched as Tsunade live out the American dream…not that she would use that term seeing how there was no America in this world, which a great deal of people noticing the positive change of such a fact.

Tsunade won. Ino had to repeat that over and over in her head as she watched her mother groan as she saw the dice leading her right into Tsunade's tourist trap. Tsunade let out a small chortle as she stuck out her hand to let Ino's mother shake. With the game over, Ino was free to finally return to her room and resume her…whatever she did.

But as she once more fell into bed, she was joined by Tsunade, still high off her victory of a child's board game. She pulled out the couch bed and fell into it, still chuckling away. Ino decided to stop this boulder before it got rolling. "You only won because I let you cheat." She remarked.

"Thanks for that!" Tsunade hollered, still laughing.

"Laugh while you can." Ino huffed as she turned over into her pillow. A muffled Ino then asked, "Kindly stop your hyena shrieking so some of us can get some sleep."

"Sorry!" Tsunade chuckled as she realized she got a little too crazy. "Tomorrow…we will talk about some things…and there's nowhere you can run." One last chuckle from the elder blonde and then silence. Ino tucked herself into bed, letting out a long drawn-out sigh. She silently wished for the rain to subside so she could escape…


	3. Chapter 3

The rain hadn't let up at all the next morning, so Tsunade managed to corner Ino in her own room to have a talk with her. Ino hoped to wake up while Tsunade was out and about doing her usual morning routine, but ended up waking up after Tsunade had freshened up already and came in wearing only a towel to collect her only pair of clothes to wash. "We're going to have that talk after I deliver." Tsunade cleared her throat. "Please don't avoid me." She turned around with her laundry and went downstairs.

What could she do? Ino didn't have the energy to leave her room, let alone her own bed. She rolled over to face the window and see the rain still pounding away. Surprised her window didn't shatter from the retreated pressure! Maybe it would and interrupt or even prevent the little talk. She almost felt tempted just to shatter the damn thing herself…if not the fact that Tsunade would know it was direct sabotage and that would land Ino into labor without pay, but it would also force Ino to sleep in the living room and soak her favorite sheets for weeks!

So she waited for it. Might as well. Tsunade would come back and they would talk…with Ino ignoring her and just saying 'yeah' every so often to act like she was interested. Tsunade appeared wearing the same towel, with her hair still wet and plastered to the back of her head and neck. Ino sighed as she saw Tsunade sat down in the office chair and cross her legs. "Shall we begin?" She asked.

"Yeah." Ino coughed out.

"You've been, for the past week…" Tsunade sighed as she relaxed back in her seat. "…sullen. You have expressed no interest in interacting with others and find yourself annoyed when you have to do something, you've been in bed too long, you're constantly tired…" Tsunade locked her hands together and looked at the still glued-down Ino. "In short…you're depressed! You're clinically depressed! Ino, you need help."

"Yeah." Ino repeated, with less interest than the first time she said it.

"You need treatment!" Tsunade enforced, standing up. "And not just antidepressants, I'm talking about therapy. Possibly entire months of therapy…and it is important…"

"To whom?" Ino groaned, actually saying something other than yeah, but not actually facing Tsunade "To only me. I would be wasting the time of the therapist and the money of my mom."

"Not if I do it and do it for free." Tsunade shrugged. "You've done plenty of good for our village, so it would be wrong to take any amount of money from a heroine…don't interrupt me." Tsunade held up a finger, anticipating Ino to repeat her new catchphrase or with a retort. "It's the least anyone could do…helping a veteran recover. I've talked with your mom, and she agrees with me."

"Shouldn't you be offering your services to a actual veteran? Like Naruto? I heard he's got problems…" Ino started to move around and coming close to face Tsunade. The Hokage leaned back in her chair now.

"Sakura's helping him with that." Tsunade filled Ino in. Seems like whenever she saw or heard from Sakura nowadays, her pink-haired apperentice seemed to be around Naruto…and vice-versa with the future Hokage. "His new hand has already managed to grasp basic objects. And you were useful. You took down Kinkaku, fought against Ten-Tails…"

"Yeah…" Ino once more repeated. "…yeah."

"You saved the world Ino!" Tsunade raised her voice. "You stopped a gigantic monster from destroying and took down a army! Ino…you're a heroine to not only to the people of Konohagakure, but to people all around the entire globe! And you…" Tsunade sighed. "…lost a great deal. What you're going through is…normal. You have every right to feel this way, it's okay."

"Is it?" Ino muttered, squished between her covers and pillows now.

"Yes." Tsunade confirmed, getting up and approaching Ino. "You can't ignore these sort of feelings. It's bad to ignore, it's bad to let it control your life. Do you want to get better?" Ino didn't move. "Don't you have dreams and ambitions? Do you wish to stay in bed all day long?" Ino budged a bit, but Tsunade reached over and gently pulled back the covers. Ino, still half-turned in bed, glanced at the older woman. "Ino…tomorrow…we will go into the living room and start the therapy. Your mother will join us…if you want. Do you want her to?"

Ino managed to shake her head. "Okay." Tsunade nodded. "I do want to help you. But your recovery is dependent on you as well." Tsunade pushed the covers back up. "Do try to get out of bed soon."

Tsunade turned to leave and continue her laundry, her towel getting caught on the bedpost. It didn't rip off her towel, but it did pull it down a bit. Ino didn't see anything too revealing, but she did halfway wish that she did…seeing someone naked and red in the face might provoke a laugh. She could use one good laugh to perk her up. Once Tsunade left the room and closed the door behind her, Ino managed to gather up the energy to pull her body out of bed and get her feet on the floor.

The rain just wouldn't die. Ino knew she had no way of escaping Tsunade. And ultimately…what's the harm in participating? Could help or at least get things started. Today would be a slow day, but hopefully it would be the last slow day.


	4. Chapter 4

No time to turn back. Ino took a deep breath in front of her mirror. She had dressed up in her cleanest clothes she had and groomed up nicely. This had been the best-looking she had been in weeks. The only thing she couldn't help fix was the paler skin she got by staying under the sheets and in her room all day. Still had a little bit of a headache and a slight twitch in her back, but those would go away soon. Unconsciously licking her lips, Ino pushed open the door and descend down to the living room.

Tsunade and her mother were waiting there, with a complete tea set on the table. Ino had a chair on the other side of the table facing the two older ladies. Ino cleared her throat to announce her presence before taking her seat. She pushed out any creases she had on her dress as she waited for the session to begin.

"You look nice." Tsunade complemented. "I'm glad to see you are taking a interest in your recovery."

"Thanks." Ino got that out with half of a mutter and half of a normal voice. "So…how's this going to work? You going to show me a few cards, answer a few questions, confront me directly…"

"We'll start with a few questions relating to your condition." Tsunade crossed her legs and reached over for the large notepad next to her. "And please, if I cross over any boundaries, please tell me and I'll stop. But we may have to push a few things regardless if you want a full recovery. What I want is for you to understand a few things that have recently developed. Are you okay with this?" Ino nodded and Tsunade started to write down a few things. "Let's start with how it started, actually. When did you first starting feeling this way?"

Ino blinked. She had to think about that. "…after the war. I was helping out with the injured…" Ino found herself drifting back to that time. Covering up her own wounds with shreds of her already torn uniform, she looked around the medical tent. Every bed is full with people all severally wounded, some even missing limbs. And not just ninjas, but civilians caught in the crossfire. Their screams were the loudest. Many of the doctors, nurses, and healers were rushing around all over the place to help as many people as possible, tripping all over each other in the process. The war had ended, so these people were the last victims. But that fact still didn't help anything at all. These people were still in pain and were on the edge of death. And a few of them did die. Loss of blood…infection…suicide…malpractice…

"Ino." Tsunade firmly stated. "Go on."

Ino took in a prolonged breath of air before continuing. "I was doing what I can to help…there wasn't much left. Some of them needed a hospital, some of them just needed bandages and were taking up beds for the severely wounded…some of them…" Ino unconsciously bit her bottom lip. "Some of them…" She repeated, recalling a very particular memory involving a elderly fisherman with half of his face melted grabbing a dirty needle…

"Ino, let's go away from that for now." A little worriment came into Tsunade's voice, realizing that Ino had hit a trigger. She took a second to consider a new path to travel on. "Let's discuss things you enjoy doing, things you haven't done recently because of the rain."

"I like most things girl are supposed to like." Ino sighed, managing to calm down and get away from that tent. "Shopping, exercise, dieting, thinking about boys…" Ino cracked her neck back and forth. "Once the rain ends, I need to lose a few pounds."

"Good." Tsunade happily sighed. "Exercise is a good way to get the heart going! Lose a few pounds and build a few muscles and you should be in good, healthy shape. Now, what kind of things do you like to buy when shopping, or do you usually window-browse?"

"Depends on how much money is in my purse." Ino played with her hair, moving a blade around her face. "I might just look and imagine myself with a certain dress for a bit, and if I can afford it, I go in and try it on first. If it fits, I look great in it, and it's affordable, yeah, I'll buy it in a heartbeat." Ino cracked her neck back, looking up to the ceiling fan to which she followed one of the blades around. "And I got tons of stuff in the closet I wore a grand total of once." Ino then sighed. "More bad decisions on my part…"

"That's normal." Tsuande shrugged. "Everyone, and I do mean everyone, buys crap they only ever use once or never at all. I actually got a small warehouse of junk outside the village. It's got dresses, scrolls, silverware, furniture, stacks of paper, weapons…" Tsunade snapped her fingers, diverting. "Ino, can you recall a recent memory about you and Tenten?"

"I got one." Ino looked back to Tsunade and her mother, who had remained quiet so far. "So, before…" Ino motioned with her hands to non-verbally bring a word she didn't want to use. "…we went out for ice-cream, just to calm ourselves and relax after a long…time of working hard like dogs. We talked…about…" Ino slowly reached a finger up above her right ear and scratched. "…the future, I remember? I remember Tenten talking about opening her own shop…not just weapons, but like a convenience store. Yeah!" A slight smile came to Ino's face. She found herself on top of a old building, looking at the sunset in the distance with a large strawberry ice cream cone in her hands, with actual chunks of strawberry! When Tenten told in detail about her huge store, Ino asked if Yamanaka Flowers could have a store on site…

"That's good." Ino's mom finally spoke up. "Focus on stuff like that!" Tsunade calmly placed a hand on the mother's lap. Ino's mother went quiet again.

"I wonder how she's doing in this rain…" Ino spoke up.

"Before I came here, I stopped by her place to drop off something for her mom." Tsunade cleared her throat. "She's a little under the weather, like everyone else, but she's doing well. She mentioned a project, so she might get started on that store you mentioned. You could help her get started."

"What about you?" Ino pointed to Tsunade. A little bit of negativity went into Ino's brain. "You run the village and you need to approve everything about the store: the land rights, the building permit, the supplies to build the place…"

"I know a abandoned building that works well." Tsunade stopped Ino mid-sentence. "It's off to the side, but it's big and has plenty of rooms and it would need only a few things to change, like adding more windows and more access." Tsunade crossed her legs. "We could use a economy boost. You and Tenten could really help Konohana."

"Yeah." Ino muttered. She started to really become bored of this conservation. She wanted this and now she grew bored of this. Kinda like her talking ballet classes as a kid. She shifted in her seat and started to look away and at the windows. The endless rain suddenly became more interesting than this. Tsunade saw this and decided to move on to something that would get Ino back on track.

"Ino…is there something you would like to eat?" Tsunade adjusted her robes as she felt a bit stuffy. Ino caught a little bit of cleavage. Going into negative mode once more, Ino decided that Tsunade was too loose. Must she expose her breasts every time she went out? All of her clothes showed off the cleavage line, displayed off her curves, or hid very little. Jealousy started to bubble in Ino, but she still kept her bored looks. "Any certain place, type of cuisine…"

"I'll take whatever." Ino dejected. "I'm not picky." Ino's mother wanted to bring up the truth, but kept quiet.

"I can treat you." Tsunade gently smiled. "You've been dealing with me as a guest for nearly a week now, so I owe a few things. A meal is the very least I can do. I can get you into some of the more prestigious restaurants in Konoha just by snapping my fingers. Once the storm fades away, I'll treat the entire family to a great meal!"

"Sure, sure." Ino grumbled. Tsunade realized that Ino had slipped a bit and progress had been halted for now. By trying to go further would be wasting time, and possibly even detrimental to Ino's recovery. Even Ino realized this and got up in a fuss. "May I go now?" Tsunade merely nodded and Ino stormed up the stairs in a hurried fuss.

"This isn't working." Ino's mother meekly admitted.

"It needs more time." Tsunade admitted as she too got up. "I'll treat you to some tea. We can discuss Ino's health over a cup."

Ino awaited at the part of the stairs where she would hidden by the wall. She grunted at hearing Tsunade and ascended to her room to sulk some more. To think that this…busty bitch can assume what she is feeling? And treat it with the promise of free food? Whatever! Ino removed her outfit and threw into the corner, not caring about the condition of the getup. She reached into her bookshelf and took a random book out and tore into it, loosing herself in the pages until dinnertime, where she darted down and took her plate upstairs to eat in private. Neither her mother and Tsunade objected to this.

Ino once more entered her own world without a single care in both her world and the real world. She wasted the rest of the evening watching the rain trickle down her window and creating patterns out of the watery lines.


	5. Chapter 5

Damn rain.

Will it ever die?

Ino was living in a Lady Macbeth style world; every action she performed made it look like she did them while sleep-walking, she spoke with brief and toneless sentences, the other two women in the household went ignored, and Ino's already desolating misery started to sink into a deeper pit.

Tsunade couldn't get Ino down the stairs to have another session. She barely could get Ino to do anything any more. Ino's schedule became this within the past week as Tsunade noticed: Come down around nine to grab breakfast, come down at one after noon to grab a quick lunch, and finally at seven for dinner. Her meals were small and varying in nutritional value. Sometimes she got slices of baked chicken between two rye bread slices, and other times a oatmeal cream cookie. Her skin would only get paler if she didn't eat something worthwhile. And Ino's mother did her best to leave healthier foods out, but Ino seemed to have the energy to move stuff around in the fridge to get what she really wanted.

The rain would only serve to further keep Ino in her depressed state. Tsunade needed to do something and fast. Would be easier if she had access to a few medical journals covering depression's symptoms and treatment; but this rain would end with her sick as a soaked dog. Her knowledge on the matter had become even fuzzier over the last week as she tried to rack her mind for anything that could help.

Ino came walking down the stairs just now for her lunch. Today would be salmon paste on two slices of white bread. Filling. Tsunade quickly worked her brain for a solution, and found a rather weak yet plausible solution. As Ino weakly yanked open the fridge door open, Tsunade approached Ino, tapped her on the shoulder to grab her attention and said, "How about we go outside for a bit?"

"What?" Ino said the first word she had said in days.

"For a few minutes, it won't kill us." Tsunade coughed out as she laid a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, what's better than coming inside and drying off? We could wrap towels around each other, sip hot chocolate, and joke about the various diseases we caught."

"If we survive drowning." Ino remarked as she turned back to the fridge to get her second meal of the day.

"It's not that bad now, it's about normal rain." Tsunade went over and parted the curtains to show that the rain outside had at least slowed down to a rate where people can walk outside with umbrellas and not get completely drenched. "No need for umbrellas or anything. We go out, get soaked, come back in?"

"That's stupid." Ino ignored Tsuande in favor of grabbing the plastic Tupperware containing the salmon paste and throwing it onto the counter. "For a medical nin, you should know better than to walk out into a raging rainstorm and just stand there. You catch like, diseases and shit." Ino coughed out a laugh at her own stupid joke before shoving the sandwich into her mouth.

"It's not that stupid if you know what you are doing." Tsunade whistled. She took Ino by the hand and whipped open the door and took the two outside. Ino protested loudly, actually using her voice. As she stepped out into the rain, she dropped the half-eaten sandwich onto the ground, immediately falling apart from the rain. Ino grunted and roared out some noises to get Tsunade to stop dragging her around in the nice and cool rain…

…the rain felt good. She expected to be a tormenting torrent of sheer cold water, but it felt like a nice shower. Sure, her clothes and hair were quickly soaked, but she felt her body relax thanks to the cool rain. She had to keep parting her hair every so often to keep out of her eyes. Ino got her first look of the outside world in long time; the familiar street looked so different after weeks of heavy rain. The trees were stripped of flowers long ago, some of the branches were either floating down the street or had fallen into a area where a new river hadn't formed. The entire street had turned into a river which went up and covered both women's feet. As Ino hadn't time to put on shoes or socks, she could feel the water coursing all over her bare feet. They started to wrinkle, of course, but it felt like a massage!

Ino looked over to Tsunade, standing there in the rain. Her clothes had started to soak and reveal her bare skin underneath the thin clothes. Tsunade started to do a impromptu dance; shaking her body back and forth. Ino had to avert her eyes a brief second to avoid looking at Tsunade's exposing shirt. But she ignored it in favor of joining Tsunade in her little dance. Her body ached a bit from doing something physical after spending a long time cooped up doing nothing, but she worked past the slight pain and danced her heart out. Slowly a smile grew on her face, and it split open to let out a great laugh and then some more.

"You see?" Tsunade giggled as she flipped her neck back to get her own hair out of her eyes. She reached over and draped a arm around Ino's shoulder. "Yes, it's raining non-stop, but it's no excuse to sit around and do nothing. You have a future ahead of you. And I don't want you to throw it away." She panned her hand outward, pointing to the dark grey sky. "That'll go away soon. After that, we'll paint the town red. You and me. I want to help you get over this. You shouldn't wallow away forever…you're too good for that."

She sounded so sincere and true. Ino couldn't help it; the rain poured hard on the ground.

Ino's mother yelled at them for half of a hour as she threw off their water-logged clothes, wrapped them up like mummies in towels and force-fed them bowls of hot chicken soup. But she did that in good humor as she noticed her daughter to be bit brighter after standing outside the grey skies.


	6. Chapter 6

Some good news came over the radio at long last. The meteorologist had made various predictions that the rain will subside or at least slow down to a easy drizzle…but only for one week. Maybe. He seemed very unsure. According to him, the rain would let up for a short period of time, although there might be a reprise during the week. Still, that would allow the people of Konoha to escape their prisons of home to go do what they want without getting drowned. Get supplies for the next week, talk with different people, go out and get some exercise, just generally enjoy themselves before another depressing session of rain.

Tsunade rolled her shoulders. It felt good to get some real air. At long last, she could go home and stop mooching off the Yamanaka family. Plus she could get drunk and wear less clothes too. A bit too stuffy for her tastes really. Plus, she really didn't want to impose any more on Ino and her family. She picked up what she brought with her originally and went down the road back to her own home.

Grey skies still hung above the village, but people were out and about and reconnecting with people and reading for next week. Tsunade kept to herself on the way back home, mostly thinking to herself. While Ino still needed a lot of therapy to get back to being normal, she was at least stable enough to be left alone for now. Before Tsunade left, Ino talked about going out and spending some time with Sakura and Hinata. They decided to meet back for another session in about two days at Tsunade's office. Loosen the leash and give Ino some time to her own without keeping her stuck in her room.

Tsunade went through the front door of her house, finding it unlocked. Right as she entered, she saw Shizune sweeping up the place with a rather terrified pace. In fact, when Tsunade announced her presence, Shizune pretty much did a back-flip and sent the broom flying off near a window. Tsunade managed to catch it before it actually went off into the glass. "Hello, Shizune." Tsunade greeted. "Anything I should be made aware of during my absence?"

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune suddenly shouted. "Nothing! I came here to deliver some papers and got stuck here when the rain picked up. So I staid here the entire time…I didn't make any mess, I cleaned up whatever I could, I rationed my meals…"

"It's fine." Tsunade raised a hand to quell Shizune's panicked rant. "I did the same with the Yamanaka family. Speaking of which, when we're making my schedule for the week…make sure that everyday staring two days from now to schedule in two hour appointments for Ms. Ino Yamanaka on the manner of her depression. Mark it as important, make sure there are no conflicts."

"You two must have bonded, huh?" Shizune asked.

"Somewhat." Tsunade admitted, cracking open the fridge to withdraw a long bottle of sake. "She's still suffering from the war and has been severely withdrawn. Ino requires some extensive therapy to properly recover, and as her family has sheltered me in these stormy times, I owe her that much." Tsunade went to the cabinet to pull out two cups.

"Special treatment." Shizune summed up as she pulled out a notepad to write down the information. "You going to do the same for others? Naruto and Sasuke have been in the hospital for quite some time, and then there's your own personal student Sakura…"

"Naruto and Sasuke got each other, and Naruto is always capable of bouncing back." Tsunade spoke up, recalling her last visit to the two. A one-armed Naruto had been making stupid puns the entire time while Sasuke brushed it off with his usual manner. "And Sakura is busy setting up her own hospital. She asked to do that on her own." Actually a white lie there. Sakura did want to handle the operation of building and operating a hospital on her own, but she also said she would be contacting Tsunade in case she needed help. As Tsunade hadn't heard anything nor as Shizune mentioned any calls or letters, Sakura must be doing fine. Still should visit her though. And both Naruto and Sasuke.

"Okay, when you're done making excuses…" Shizune sighed as she jotted down a possible schedule. "…there are a few things that do your immediate attention. The overflowing river issue, we need to check various structures to make sure they're still holding against the rain, we need to authorize more shelters as well check on the already-existing ones, the building crews need authorization and places to build trenches…"

"The usual." Tsuande sighed as she poured out the last of the sake.

"Don't worry, if we get started now we could get the first two items done today. Your body could use some exercise!" Shizune quickly downed her cup and waited at the door for Tsunade to come over. The Hokage sighed and too chugged her drink before joining Shizune outside.

After spending so much time indoors and relaxing, Tsunade really couldn't get back into the spirit of work. It didn't help that she couldn't get Ino out of her mind. After all, she might be having the same problems adjusting to the outside world.


	7. Chapter 7

Ino's limbs already felt tired. Such is the consequence of staying in bed all day. Just walking down to Sakura's workplace required her to stop and stretch a bit every five minutes. For a ninja of her caliber, she should easily make this walk without this much trouble. Looks like she would be hitting the gym sometime this week. And taking a series of many long walks every day.

After her legs stopped feeling like crap, Ino continued onwards. Following the end of the war, Sakura decided to get busy setting up a new hospital for the veterans and the civilians alike. It started out with a tent that hadn't gotten used during the war. Tsunade got some funding from the village to turn the place into a one-floor wooden building. And more funding had been gained and plans had been to make the place into a three-story building made out of bricks. Regardless of the building, Sakura worked long all day every day. By this point, Sakura must have healed half the entire village.

From what Ino gathered from Sakura's parents when she looked for her best friend at her own house, Sakura holed up her hospital during the rain onslaught. So Ino expected to see a run-down, water-logged, blood-stained, baggy-eyed Sakura when she went through the plastic door-flaps. The place itself had the look; it didn't hold well against the torrent from the skies. Several buckets and other items masquerading as buckets lined the halls to catch drops and thin streams of water leaking through the ceiling, which had became a darker color. Ino carefully treaded around the buckets and followed the signs on the wall to the office area. The place was a bit empty; Ino only ran into a few doctors, nurses and only one patient. The rain slowing down must allowed a great deal of people to go home.

The office area looked intact and dry at least. But as expected of Sakura, stacks of papers towered over the decks and chairs. Ino wondered how things would be once Sakura got the bigger hospital. The paperwork would decorate the hallways! Putting aside the funny comment, Ino made her way to the president's office and rapped on the door. She waited for a second and took an annoyed grunt as a affirmative to go ahead. Only half of Ino's predictions came true: Sakura looked really run-down and both of her eyes had purple bags hanging under them. Sakura looked up from doing some paperwork to reorder some gloves to see someone she hadn't seen in months. "Ino!" Sakura's voice lifted from sullen to pure happiness to greet and hug Ino.

"Been a while." Ino simply replied. "Everything's in order?" She then joked.

"Patients?" Sakura threw her arms out. "Yeah, they're healthy and we can boast that not a single patient hasn't died on us. But…" Sakura let out a sigh before falling down into her chair. "…our doctors and nurses aren't. Hardly fill out paperwork and keep moving around the supplies. Takes me a few minutes to locate anything."

"And the place is getting bigger…" Ino teased with a rather cruel smile.

"Thanks for reminding me!" Sakura exasperated. "I got a meeting with the council three days from now to discuss the building plan. Where we're going to set it up, how much money we need to spend on a proper building, why we need two hospitals…" She leaned back in her chair to stare at the ceiling before continuing. "…basically a three-hour-long session of old people complaining about things they did little to no research on." The small joke at least got Ino to giggle a bit. "But enough of me ranting, how have you been?"

"Well, for starters?" Ino picked up a stack of papers and moved aside so she could sit down in the other chair. "Trapped in my home sucked. But I did have a interesting houseguest to keep me and my mom company. Lady Tsunade herself…"

"Oh, so that's where she's been!" Sakura interrupted. "She was supposed to come here to help me out, but she had a errand to make before coming. I guess you were that errand."

"Had to drop some stuff off." Ino told. "Then the rain came flooding down. So she staid and mooched off us."

"Oh?" Sakura huffed. "You might want to check your alcohol reserves then."

"She actually didn't consume any alcohol during her stay."

"Kinda hard to imagine. You might want to check, just in case."

"Trust me, she didn't."

"Okay." Sakura breathed out. "So I guess you came here to get me away from here, huh?"

"You need a break." Ino told. "Time for you to change into something comfortable, leave this place, and have some fun. Life isn't all work, you know!"

"It'll be real funny if I go out and have some fun, only for the fun times to be used against me during my meeting with the village council." Sakura mumbled as she messily organized a few papers on her desk. Ino sighed, got up, and picked Sakura up. She carried her to the changing room and patted her on the back to get Sakura working. Ino left her friend alone so she could get changed into something less formal.

It did give time for Ino to think. Things were going great. She held a conservation with a friend and it didn't get awkward nor did she annoy Sakura. A little red sticker appeared on her cheeks. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed interacting with other people! Can't believe she spent all that time indoors.

Sakura came out dressed in a faded-yellow shirt, grey jacket and blue jeans. With a slight smile, the two went out of the wet hospital to catch up and have some fun before the rain came back and wash that away. Ino felt relaxed and calm. She really had only one problem during her little time with Sakura.

She forgot her wallet at home.


	8. Chapter 8

She examined the vest all over with a careful eye. This store had a habit of selling really cheap clothes with tears, bleached spots, tabs from more expensive clothes stapled on, and other such stupid attempts to make their cheap and often damaged goods seem more expensive than the cheap junk they often were. Ino eyed the vest, looking for the usual defects. The last time she bought a item in this store was about two years ago, where she got a sunhat. Or just a regular hat really. Thin thing didn't block anything, let alone the sun on a cloudy day.

Ino turned and looked at her friend a bit further away. Sakura's rather bored demeanor she had on since they left the hospital quickly transformed to the angry inner Sakura once she recognized the pink dress of a hand-me-down based around the still uncleaned scuffs around the knee area. Based around the fire building in her eyes, she was about ready to tear the dress in half in front of the grubby-looking staff member who had tried to fool her. The nearby young teenage girls (The target audience for this place) slowly scooted away as they witnessed a demon starting to appear.

Really, the only reason they came here is to find a treasure deep down in the junk. In this store's attempt to make a quick buck, they would occasionally get something real good and sell it real cheap without knowing.

"This looks good." Ino remarked over to Sakura, who stormed over with a bloody knuckle. "Fairly cheap too." She showed Sakura the tag. "But hey, if you want it…"

"Huh?" Sakura questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, no thanks. Don't you want it?" Ino shook her head for two reasons; one reason was because she didn't have her wallet with her, and the other was simply because she found the thing to be a bit tacky. Ino wondered if the time spent alone in her room made her opinions on clothes change. She didn't wear much; just a series of t-shirts, shorts and whatever looked clean and was within arm's reach.

"Weird." Sakura huffed as she tossed the item over somewhere else. "I thought that thing would be in your style. I guess the rain has been pulling you down, huh?" Sakura turned her head a bit and noticed something in a corner stall. "Be right back…" She trailed off after patting Ino on the shoulder and before running off to get that item that had caught her attention oh so much. Ino rolled her shoulders and walked over to a nearby bench to rest a bit and do some more thinking. Can't say she hadn't done enough of that.

Ino gazed around the store, looking at the different crowds of people. There were the young teen girls, thinking what they got would be the steal of a century. The fathers and mothers watching the girls, all of them regretting coming here and wanting to leave as soon as possible. The teen boys…checking out the teen girls. And some old men as well…maybe later Ino and Sakura can deal with those pervs to relieve some boredom. The last group consisted of employees talking amongst themselves and waiting for someone to check out.

Just as Ino closed her eyes to catch a quick nap, she overheard two people giggling behind her. She tried to ignore it at first, but with the giggling being machine-gunned out and getting louder all the time, Ino growled and turned to face the two. It appeared to be two girls, a little bit younger than Ino herself. The two were looking over the vest that had thrown over by Sakura. They were talking about buying it and fearing the wrath of the pink tyrant. Ino ignored them again in favor of trying to get a little nap.

But the conservation went down a different path as Ino sleepily listened in. They talked about the sad-looking blonde and the angry pink-haired girl…and how they would make a great couple. Ino wanted to jump up and smack the girls into the next era for saying something so stupid…but then the conservation switched to a different gear. The girls compared Ino and Sakura to themselves…

…when Ino turned around and looked at the girls, she spotted them kissing each other. Not in the friendly manner, oh no, but more romantic. On the lips, with a hearty smack. Ino could tell that these two were romantically involved with each other. These two lesbians continued to make the comparison between Ino and Sakura. They could tell the two were good lifelong friends…and could become more if pushed in the right direction. Hearing a couple of strangers talk about her and Sakura almost gave Ino a headache.

But the thing is, this isn't the first time that people have brought up her and Sakura's relationship. Naruto used to joke about it during the days where he was a annoying little shit. Plenty of people around the village would whisper about how the two should just kiss and make up. Their own team leaders mentioned a few times the two share a more deeper friendship than most normal people do…

…but Ino slapped herself in the face. She and Sakura? Not a chance! Neither are gay! Sakura was currently seeing the village hero, and Ino was seeing…nobody. Still tho', she ain't interested in ladies! Men! She wanted a man in her life…a real man…like her father…okay, not like that. She needed someone that would care for her when she felt bad, someone that would be by her side whenever for whatever, someone that would love her…

…in a sense, Ino just described Tsunade. Someone who just spent a great deal of time with her and actually did those things that Ino wanted to do.

"Hey, something wrong there?" Sakura tapped Ino on the shoulder, getting her attention out of her thoughts. "I saw you slap yourself…you feeling okay?" Ino nodded her head as she got up. "Oh, okay. I'm going to buy this." She held up a pink and rose-red coat that looked way too good to be in this store. And going by the waving price-tag, this item was affordable. "You sure you didn't see anything worth your while?" Ino shook her head and lead her friend over to the checkout counter. Honestly, even if she had the money, she didn't see anything worth her time.

Her mind was on other things at the moment too…


	9. Chapter 9

Honesty? She wanted the rainclouds to suddenly explode into a massive storm that would flood the city and everybody was forced back inside to avoid drowning. Running through the rivers that used to be streets and looking for suitable cover would be far more simulating than this boring-ass meeting with some bland council of villagers talking about such a grave manner in these grey times…how children's cellphones should be censored and used only for emergencies.

Tsunade didn't mind the other meetings; they were important to the village. The river had overflowed into a large lake, some of the structures had suffered a great deal of water damage but thankfully only a few had actually collapsed, some of the shelters needed supplies and repairs, they found more buildings that would serve as appropriate shelters, and there were plenty of good areas to build trenches to prevent the water from flooding the village for good. But Tsunade had gone past the serious meetings and into the smaller ones that offered little to nothing of interest towards Tsunade and the village. But a bunch of 'well-doing', 'well-meaning', 'elite' had placed several requests (and bribes to the officials lower than Shizune) to get Tsunade to see them.

No point in taking down notes, these matters would be forgotten within a few short days. The old lady, her skin faded with long age, took the podium and raised the serious issue about kids who spend too much time not helping the community. (Elite community anyhoo) Tsunade's eyes drooped and she started to feel the pull of the dreamworld calling to her. This lady would talk for a long time without break or even looking over to see if the leader of the village was even paying attention to her, so Tsunade let herself drift into a peaceful rest.

Being a catnap, her dreams didn't offer much. Faded and simple colors dominated the long and vast wasteland of her dreams and all of the beings that walked around were blurry. Tsunade floated through this desolate world, her mind remained a complete blank. Didn't recognize anything or anybody. A combination of the rough chair and the musty air didn't exactly make for ideal resting conditions. When she woke up, she would feel worse than when she went.

The sky suddenly turned green and Tsunade dropped onto a tall rock. Tsunade sighed and looked into the twisted sky as the green mixed with darker and lighter hues. No stars, no heavenly bodies, just green. It's green.

"It's lovely." Someone next to her said. Tsunade turned and saw a pink human with no interesting figures and a rounded body. "Do you think the same?"

"Sure." Tsunade simply replied.

"It's a lovely spot to gaze up at the sky." The being continued. "The ground is nice and smooth, there's no animals to attack and bother you, and there's no loose gravel to sit on and make things uncomfortable." Tsunade breathed in and looked up at the sky. The green had been replaced with a vivid purple. Just seeing the sky relaxed Tsunade's shoulders and her entire body felt lighter. "I do have one question for you." The pink being asked after a long pause.

"Yeah?" Tsunade whispered.

"Are you lonely?" The pink being asked with complete sincerity. "Is the company of your friends enough?"

Tsunade was unable to answer as her body shook violently, bringing her back into the world of the awake. Shaking the cobwebs, she noticed the entire room had focused on her with suspicious looks. All she did was fall asleep during a boring meeting, that's normal…unless she talked in her sleep and said something really stupid. She turned to the right to see Shizune's hand clamped down on her shoulder, meaning that her loyal assistant had to shake her awake. Looking straight forward, Tsunade noticed that the podium had recently become vacant. Guess it was her turn to say something. Hopefully something important.

"What did I miss?" Tsunade whispered to Shizune as the two got up.

"Nothing much." Shizune whispered back. "Just a bunch of old people ranting…older people than you."

"Ah." Tsunade cleared her throat. "Tell me, what am I talking about?"

"You're going to talk about the problems with teens. Keep in mind…these people think they are important and we're going to enact whatever they came up with. Just talk on their level, pretend to care. After this, we can go home and forget it all."

Tsunade sighed as she took the podium and racked her brain to find something that would keep these octogenarians satisfied. Just go on about how the younger generation is evil and stupider and how things were better in the olden days! Yeah, that would keep them nice and happy. Maybe later Tsunade could convince them to donate some money to something with actual importance.

As she went off on her half-hearted rant about the young people ruining the village, Tsunade's mind drifted back to the dream. The rather weird dream that didn't really make much sense to her no matter how she viewed it. She didn't feel lonely; she had a long extensive GALAXY of friends! The environment didn't make sense to her anyway…those weird colors and the shapeless being…did anything make any sense to her?

Thankfully, the crowd bought her generic bullshit and the meeting finished with everyone happy. Shizune secretly crumpled up the papers that the old farts had given them and threw them away in the nearest waste-bin. She and Tsunade returned home and threw themselves onto the nearest comfy thing. Night had fallen by this point, so Shizune quickly nodded off into slumber upon landing the couch. As Tsunade had previously taken a short nap, it messed up her sleep cycle and she ended up rolling around a bit in her own bed.

She tried everything she knew to get herself back into the land of slumber. Staring at a single blade of the ceiling fan and following it around, literally counting sheep, making up a very long and detailed story and going through it in her head, lighting scented candles, turning on multiple fans to cool her…now her eyes had gone a bit cross, she lost count of the sheep, her mind was overloaded with ideas and no way to put them down on paper, the entire room smelled like strawberries and the noise of the fan motors were keeping her up.

It took her at least two hours for her to doze off again. Now in a more comfortable spot, the dream's colors were brighter and she could make out the once-foggy details clearer. She returned to the tall rock and found the being still staring at the colorful sky. "Tell me." Tsunade quizzed. "What did you mean by that question? Am I lonely?"

"Do you desire more?" The being just asked away without bothering to answer Tsunade's own question. "More than just friendship? Do you feel like something is missing in your life?"

Tsunade felt that asking any questions towards this thing inside her mind wouldn't get her anywhere. The being would just ask more and more questions without delay and even if Tsunade could properly answer them, the being would most likely ignore it and continue like nothing has happened. _This must be doubt_, Tsunade thought. _That's all this thing is, my suppressed doubts given a voice._ Tsunade silently left the being alone on the mountain and continued to explore her dreams on her own.

Tsunade wanted to put away the questions, but the thoughts lingered with her throughout the dream and into the waking world once she got up.


	10. Chapter 10

While Tsunade stumbled through unusual dreams, at least she got some decent sleep that would keep her going tomorrow. Ino didn't get the same treatment…

She went to bed early, tired after a long day of walking about town with Sakura. They already made plans to go out tomorrow as well, this time with Tenten and Hinata to get lunch. Ino already set up for tomorrow; her outfit of a light-pink top and blue jeans already had her wallet stuffed in it so she didn't forget again. Her purse hung from the chair next to the laid out outfit, carrying anything a girl like her would ever need. In the event she forgot about she had planned out, she hung a note on her mirror that would remind her of everything. Ino quickly undressed to her underwear and jumped into bed, closing her eyes and going to sleep quickly.

But her dreams took her to a dark place. Not a place where you could only get into dreams…it was a place Ino had been before. A place she hoped she would _never_ come back to. A dirty medical tent overcrowded with patients and the medical staff running around like mad to do what they could. Ino blinked a few times before the horror set in. The familiar screams of pain, the begging for sweet release, frequent demands for more drugs to be given, the civilians weeping as they would ask about the conditions of others, and the medical staff breaking down piece after piece.

Ino woke up with her body have broken out into cold sweating. A quick gaze over to her mirror showed that her eyes had gone dinner-plate wide. Not wanting to go back into that terrible place, Ino threw off the covers and went through the usual manners of tiring her out so she would go to a dark sleep without dreaming.

She started out with exercises; pushups and situps. Her body ached like hell of course. She lost her breath walking through town, why did she think she would be able to do the same reps she did during her prime? With her body feeling more pain than drowsy, Ino went into the bathroom, stuck her open mouth under the faucet and took in several mouthfuls of water. Her body felt better, so she snuck downstairs and did a illegal thing in the Yamanaka household; eating directly out of the ice cream carton. With her belly now rocking with tons of liquid sloshing about, Ino decided to go back to sleep again and hopefully go into a better dream.

The liquid belly only sent her to a different sort of dream. Instead of returning her to the dark place from her past, it took her to a dark corridor. In a sense, she felt like she was once more trapped within the infinite Tsukuyomi. Except instead of having her happy little dream, she was once more back at the camp.

The voices were even louder now and _echoed_. Ino covered her ears in a vain attempt to drown out the damning screams, but they still burst through her hands, travelled through her ears and pounded her brain like the rain that had been going for the past month. Her next attempt was to match the screams with her own. No matter how she strained her throat, the voices of the dead and dying continued to echo. Their howling melded together into a demonic cry of 'KILL ME! KILL ME!'

But at long last, Ino awoke, now even more sweatier her eyes even wider.

This was Tsunade's fault. Her little therapy session and bringing back Inoichi's headband provoked memories that Ino had struggled to repress. Now they were back, and they had no intention of leaving. Ino took heavy breaths as she tried to calm herself. Her heart slammed against her chest with enough force almost to burst out. Ino rolled up in her sheets out of total fear.

That night went on with her doing whatever she could not to fall asleep. She didn't want to go back there. At least once she fainted from exhaustion she got her wish of a nondescript dream land…


	11. Chapter 11

Tsunade couldn't help but feel drowsy and achy after getting up at seven. Damn, she got used to the roll in Ino's room. That, and to the sound of rain pummeling the building. For once, the area around was quiet. She crawled out of bed and went through her usual morning affairs. Ate, cleaned, dressed. She couldn't help but repeating to herself that she gotten used to the easy life. Tsunade almost considered turning over the position to Kakashi as many people recommended, but she had to continue on.

After all, Kakashi's masked face would look really stupid chiseled into the mountain.

Shizune had already gone out to do some chores and left a note telling Tsunade to be ready for yet another meeting. At least it had actual importance to it; a inspection of the dam outside of the village to make sure it still held and would continue to hold when the storm came back again. Tsunade opted to stay at home for now and relax until it was close to the meeting time. She made a cup of tea and settled into her favorite armchair.

Her thoughts went back to Ino. Tsunade wondered how the girl was currently doing. She seemed to be in a stable condition when Tsunade left the Yamanaka household yesterday. Surely only the passing of a single day wouldn't be enough to return her to the state she was in before! Plus, Tsunade's student, Sakura, could and would be able to help Ino in that event. Tsunade predicted there and then that Ino would be healthy within a month, maybe two if more problems arose. Ino's depression might not just be tied to the traumas of war and losing her father.

Her thoughts got interrupted when someone knocked thrice on her door. Tsunade placed her teacup on the nearby desk and answered the door. "Ah, Sakura!" Tsunade beamed as she wrapped her apperentice into a hug. "How goes things at your place?"

"Well." Sakura sighed. "Tiring."

"But of course!" Tsunade cheered as she slapped Sakura on the backside. "Come in, come in!" She drew in the pink-haired doctor inside, closing the door and shutting Sakura in. "I heard you got a meeting with some bigwigs in a few days to get a actual hospital."

"Oh yeah." Sakura groaned out and flopped into a chair. "Three stories tall! And I can barely find a empty syringe now, imagine just trying to locate one with three stories!"

"Don't worry, the contractors are smart enough to make sure to include a supply room on each floor." Tsunade went into the kitchen to pour Sakura a cup of tea. "But it's up to you and your senior staff to organize those rooms yourselves. Keep the emergency stuff close to the door, less essentials further back."

"What I need is a trained staff; I just caught someone trying to smuggle out pills."

"You fire him?"

"After breaking his nose, yeah."

"Sakura."

"It's a hospital. I fixed him up and charged him with his last paycheck."

"Well at least you did the responsible thing." Tsunade shook her head with a smile before delivering the cup to Sakura. "So, how's Naruto and Sasuke? Still alive?" Tsunade asked as she returned to her seat.

"Yes, alive." Sakura nodded after taking a quick sip. "Naruto is quickly adapting to his arm. He didn't smack himself in the face when he tried to pick up the ball." Sakura then imitated that specific event by wildly swinging her arm up and nearly hitting herself in the forehead. "And Sasuke is doing fine. He's been quiet, and hasn't had any outbursts." Tsunade felt relived hearing that. The last intern that got in Sasuke's way still hadn't regained control of his legs. "Mistress Tsunade?" Sakura then piped up. "Can you tell me what lead you to stay at the Yamanaka residence the past while? Ino didn't tell me much."

"Ah." Tsunade raised a finger. "I was delivering Inochi's recovered headband." Tsunade paused for a second to let it sink in for Sakura, who lowered her head a bit. "The rain picked up and Mrs. Yamanaka offered to keep me while the storm raged on. I accepted. And no, I didn't steal any hooch."

"Really?" Sakura wondered under her breath before asking with a audible voice, "So, did you and Ino get along?"

"Ino…" Tsunade cleared her throat. "…needs a little help. She hasn't really adjusted back to life after the war."

"It's depression, isn't it?" Sakura blurted out. Tsunade breathed out of her nose before nodding her head. "I had a feeling when we last talked…it's been a while of course. She brushed me off when I tried to pry, and I was busy at the hospital at the time…"

"It's okay." Tsunade held up a hand to stop Sakura. "Ino's problems are going to require a lot of time and patience to fix. While this isn't a permanent problem for her, the solution will have to be permanent. The condition she's stuck in has many chances to relapse." Tsunade considered that Ino might have already relapsed, but she took a chance and assumed she was fine. "We got a appointment tomorrow, so if you see her today, can I ask you to make sure she doesn't do anything drastic? I have a important meeting at the dam today so I can't play babysitter."

"Of course." Sakura instantly agreed. "Ino is coming along with me, Hinata and Tenten to do some shopping before the storm comes back. We'll liven her spirits in anyway I can."

"Just remember." Tsunade trembled on that sentence, making Sakura focus completely on her. "If she seems a bit too energetic…"

"Yeah." Sakura interrupted. "We'll take her to my hospital."

"Good." Tsunade gulped. "Ino will get better. But it will take time…"


	12. Chapter 12

Out of all the girls present, Tenten had the least amount of medical knowledge. Sure, she knew how to apply first-aid and understood the usage of different drugs, but she didn't have the training from a legendary Senin or the funds of a wealthy family.

And yet Tenten could tell that Ino suffered from a complete lack of sleep. Yawning every few seconds, discolored bags under the eyes, she moved and talked slower, had a delayed reaction time, and the fact she did mention within a yawn she didn't much sleep last night. Going by her appearance, Ino hadn't slept in several days. But Sakura mentioned she saw Ino yesterday and she looked relatively fine, if tired and abstent-minded. Last night must nearly killed her.

"I'mma fine." Ino mumbled her words when Hinata asked. "Justa lost summa hours of mmgeh-sleep." Ino lowered her head onto the metal mall table and closed her eyes. The girls let her rest for a bit before Sakura gently poked her elbow into Ino's shoulder. Ino weakily groaned and looked up. "Yeah, missed something?"

"Ino." Sakura blankly stated. "You going to tell us what happened last night or…"

"Okay, I'mma okay." Ino repeated. "Just go have fun without me for a bit…give me a sec…" She once more lowered her head down and closed her eyes. "Don't mind me."

Tenten almost felt like getting up and putting Ino into a sleeper hold so the blonde could get some sleep. She didn't need to be up and about; she needed to be in bed and resting. Ino could have just postponed the get-together for later in the evening. It would have made more sense for all of them. Sakura and Tenten would be off work, and Hinata could take the evening off after helping with her family. A short three hour nap would have saved Ino from becoming a zombie.

"Hey, Sakura?" Hinata spoke up. "I'm going to go get our order at the, uh, place. Could you help me?" Sakura nodded and followed Hinata over to the little burger shack. Once they were out of earshot, Hinata asked, "Do you think we should try to heal Ino? I fear she might harm herself if she was allowed to continue any further."

"It's not just she's sleep-deprived." Sakura started as she bowed to the server as he delivered the four baskets to them. "I haven't spent that much time with her recently…and really?" Sakura cleared her throat as she took two baskets. A big and meaty for her, and the usual arrangement burger for Ino. "Going by her appearance, I say the problem isn't a lack of sleep, but the desire to not go to sleep."

"In just one night?" Hinata wondered as she grabbed her veggie burger, and a plan and dry for Tenten. "Must have been a hellish nightmare."

"Hinata." Sakura stopped suddenly and turned to her friend. "After we drop these burgers off, can we go…somewhere private? To talk about Ino? We'll tell Tenten later, but I prefer if someone staid with Ino." Hinata caught on and nodded. "Just say we needed to freshen up." Sakura added as they continued walking. "Here you go!" She chirped as she shoved Ino's basket into her face, prompting the sleepy blonde to get up and notice the hot meal. "Be right back." Sakura then patted Tenten on the back. "Make sure she doesn't go anywhere, okay?" Tenten understood and slowly munched away at her burger while keeping her eyes trained on Ino, who started to nibble at her meal.

Once the two were away from the others, Sakura whispered to Hinata, "Ino is suffering through depression."

"Ah." Hinata replied sullenly. "I'm guessing it has to do with the war?" Sakura nodded. "Are you worried she might…?"

"Me and Tsunade share the same concerns." Sakura filled in. "While this isn't the best condition she could be in, her lack of energy will at least prevent her from…doing it." Sakura really didn't want to say it so she continued to something she could talk about. "Like you said, she must have a hellish nightmare last night. One enough to completely prevent her from getting any sleep…" Sakura trailed off as she recalled a very powerful memory.

She gotten back from pounding Kaguya into the ground, keeping the goddess busy long enough for Naruto to recover and finish her off for good. Sakura felt half dead and wanted to go and lie down before doing anything else. On the way to a tent where she would crash for the night, she passed by Ino. Her eyes were wide and blank, and she shivered like she fell into a pond in the winter. Sakura could only muster a simple greeting before she nearly collapsed over into the tent and fell asleep onto the dirt floor. When she woke up after hearing about Sasuke and Naruto's fight and how they blew off the other's arm, she nearly forgot about how utterly scared Ino looked.

"Something…happened to her at the camp." Sakura concluded. "Bringing it up to her will only make things worse…and it's not like it is all that tough of a problem to solve. The camps were overstuffed with causalities of war, soldiers and civilians alike. And Ino was working as a medical officer at the camps. She probably seen a great deal of people dying around her and she couldn't do anything to save them."

"PTSD." Hinata summed up. Sakura nodded. "Combined that with her father's death…and poor Ino." Sakura again nodded.

"Lady Tsunade said she's having a session with Ino tomorrow, so maybe we can see some improvement in her." Sakura breathed out as she leaned against the wall. "I wish there was someway I could help her…but I'm not versed enough in psychology to try and do anything without doing anything drastic. The best I, and we, can do for now is to keep her busy and comfortable."

"Limit her caffeine intake?" Hinata asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Keep her away from sharp object?"

"Yep."

"Make sure she doesn't drool on everything?"

"…not really a major concern, but we still should make sure we don't have to pay for any damages."

"Just keep Ino going." Hinata then wondered, "How will she be able to get any sleep tonight? Her body won't be capable of taking any more abuse."

Sakura considered her options before replying. "I guess general medication will work. We just got to make sure she takes it when she's goes to bed…later tonight. Seven thirty." Hinata nodded, adding a mental note. "Let's get back before our meals get cold."

As Hinata and Sakura returned to their seats, Sakura felt so guilty that she really couldn't do anything for her friend. Ino looked so down and beaten….and Sakura didn't know where to start with the treatment. While she had received extensive training from the last remaining legendary Sanin, her actual practical hands-on experience was greatly lacking. Within a year's time, she would be able to handle this.

But for now, it was up to Tsunade.


	13. Chapter 13

Ino's mind was adrift all day long. She pretty much became a zombie who went through the motions without a care in the world. Got up, took a shower (And the hot water barely woke her) and went out into the world without breakfast. Not that having a complete breakfast would have saved her, and her mother had stocked the pantry and fridge with plenty of food to keep them going for weeks. Met her friends, and sloppily went through their little get together without bothering to actually do anything and just drag her feet the entire way.

But at least the last part of the day made it easy for her. Tenten and Sakura carrying her back home with Hinata having run off to grab some proper medication. If her mind wasn't swimming in bad brain juice, she would be thanking them the entire way home and offering to buy them their favorite meal. She wouldn't be able to afford it, but she would still make the offer regardless.

"You lost a lot of weight." Tenten remarked. "And muscle mass."

"Don't spend all day inside, kiddies." Ino tried to joke by sounding like a PSA, but came off as more as the comical drunk that would appear in the PSAs. Tenten and Sakura kept going until they reached the doorstep of the Yamanaka residence.

Ino's mother answered the door. "I figured this would happen." She sighed. "Is she okay?"

"Incredibly tired, but alive." Sakura rapped Ino's head with a few soft punches. "I'll need you to tell you about a few things, Mrs. Yamanaka. It concerns Ino's health and I need you to keep a eye on her for a few days as well as maintaining a strict schedule." Sakura grunted as she let her side of Ino fall onto Tenten. "You got this?"

"Yeah." Tenten breathed out her nose as she helped Ino up the stairs. "Please stay in your bed tonight." She strictly ordered Ino. "You won't manage going down your stairs without hurting yourself."

"Yeah, yeah." Ino sighed.

"Don't do anything rash." Tenten told her as she opened the door into Ino's room. The place looked messy, the bed had pretty much fallen apart. All the sheets and the cover were strewn all over the place with the sheets intertwined with themselves and spent clothes. Tenten let out a small groan before she laid Ino into a chair and started to redress the bed. "And maybe clean your room? If you get the energy? Could be a start for…" Tenten stumbled on her words for a second as she dug into the mess to untangle the bed coverings. "…well, it could be a start."

"Mumph." Ino retorted.

Tenten shook her head as she fixed the bed and arranged it so she tuck Ino in once Hinata delivered the medicine. And speak of the devil, in walked the Hyuga successor with a pharmacy bag. "Here." She reached in and retrieved the classic orange pillbottle. "Take this pill nightly before you go to bed. It'll ease you into a gentle slumber, and it says it will prevent you from having dreams…I'm not too sure about that."

"Glass of water." Ino hoarsely asked. Tenten nodded and went into the bathroom to go and get that glass of water. Hinata turned on a little chakra into her palms and pressed them onto Ino's forehead. "Relax." She whispered as she applied some calming energy into Ino to ease her swollen muscles. "Just calm down." Ino breathed out, and her shoulders lowered. "There."

Tenten came in and delivered the glass. Hinata cracked open the bottle, took out a single pill and dropped it into the water. She then cradled Ino's head and sent the pill in. Ino had enough energy to swallow the pill herself. "Good." Hinata breathed out as Ino's body started to go limp. Tenten got up and helped moved Ino into under the covers.

"Good night." Tenten whispered, patting Ino on her forehead. Ino muttered something before gently drifting off into sleep. Tenten and Hinata quietly sneaked out of the room and headed downstairs.

Ino didn't feel anything. Her entire body felt numb, and she liked it. She would be swimming in a black inky ocean the entire night, with no trips to any nightmarish lands. A good thing.


	14. Chapter 14

Tsunade never done this before. Triple-checking her office…and now doing it four times.

She went over to the chair that Ino would use during their session. A nice light blue padded recliner with a small light-sea blue memory-foam pillow to make her relaxed and focus her mind. Tsunade had spent the last hour rearranging her desk and the floor to be less cluttered of books and other junk. As the grey skies wouldn't help with recovering from depression, Tsunade attached some orange and violet curtains to block the dull view and reinforce positive elements. Tsunade dusted and vacuumed the place, cleared out all the booze, and just generally arranged the room to be nice and clean.

And Tsunade did this all on her own. Didn't even call Shizune, even gave her a day off. She was really going the extra mile on this.

Ino would arrive in about twenty minutes. Tsunade paced around the room, wondering if she should go at it again. Just to make sure. She tried to calm herself by sitting down at her desk and pulling out from a drawer a half-finished novel to dig into. A mystery about a amnesiac ghost helping a down-and-out detective to reveal a fake conspiracy to a nation about to go to war. Oddly enough, the last time she read from the novel was before heading out to deliver Inochi's recovered handband.

She went straight to her bookmark and continued:

_"So." Detective Hajime cleared his throat before asking, "All this…over land?"_

_"Very profitable land." Kousuke floated over to Hajime's side. "155 acres isn't much, but the land is perfect for growing crops, raising animals…and planning raids. It's on neutral ground, so if Arianana goes to war with Forowlost…"_

_"Senator Blake will take the land and get revenge." Hajime sighed. "Always revenge. It's good for business tho', when smart people want revenge without breaking the law."_

Tsunade found herself drifting off from reading. Sure, the heroes were talking about the villain's motivations and why he wanted to get his country to go into war with a innocent country, but she couldn't focus on absorbing the information. Having only managed to cover a few paragraphs, she left her bookmark as it were and put the book away. Eighteen minutes. She only wasted two.

Why was she so distracted? This would be simple. Ino would walk in, Tsunade would ask her to take a seat in the chair. They would discuss various things, like Ino's recent encounter with her friend and her dreams. Tsunade would prescribe some medication and a strict regulation to help her recover. They would part ways for now and have another session two weeks from now for a check up.

But this seemed to extend beyond a normal doctor's visit, huh? Tsunade figured she felt more nervous than Ino did. She wanted to get up and rearrange the room again just to make sure that Ino would be completely comfortable when she finally sat down for the meeting. Tsunade turned her head sharply at the clock to notice that she still had seventeen minutes. What would she do for that time?

Tsunade opened the drawer on the opposite side of her desk from the book. Inside were pads of lined paper and a few pens and pencils. Tsunade snatched up a pad and a pencil to jolt down a few things. She started with her dreams, what she saw and possibly a few things about they could mean. The pink being she talked with? Tsunade originally figured it represented her doubts. She was nearly hitting sixty years of age...a bit late for a mid-life crisis, but given her nigh-endless life force and incredible chakra control, she figured she could make it a little over hundred years more!

…so not even close to a mid-life crisis. She needed another two decades before she go into the town-square and announced she was going through a mid-life crisis.

She continued to write down ideas. What did the tall rock the being sat on represent? Maybe she wanted a vacation to someplace new, somewhere up in the mountains? Nah, that's a bit on the nose. Maybe…the tall mountain represented something overwhelming to her…her own guilt over the people whose lives were lost because of her? Tsunade clutched her chest in a mild panic as her own issues came flooding over her. She took several deep breaths and focused on the good memories from years prior to calm her down. After a few minutes, her chest went back to the normal pace of breathing.

Still only ten minutes to go. God, would she even be able to go on with the whole thing? She nearly had a panic attack just now, and if Ino were to say certain words, this could trigger a actual panic attack.

What she needed to do now is to find something calming. Reading and writing were out; the former couldn't keep her focused and the latter proved to do the opposite effect. What else? Not eating, not drinking, not sleeping…

…maybe a little catnap wouldn't hurt. Tsunade ducked into the nearby bathroom and grabbed a towel off the rack. She turned the cool water handle on halfway and quickly dabbed the towel in the water. With the towel damp, she turned off the water and wringed out the excess water. Tsunade returned to the office and leaned back in her chair, applying the wet towel to her forehead.

So much better. The cool cloth washed her troubled mind down like a nice shower. Tsunade's breathing slowed into a relaxed pace and a easy smile developed on her face. Soon, time went away as she relaxed in her chair with the cure-all towel.

"Lady Tsunade?"

A nudge from the right. Tsunade awoke with a sudden start and saw that a very tired-looking Ino stood next to her. "Lady Tsunade?" Ino asked again, her voice weak. "Uh, sorry I arrived late, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"I heard." Tsunade blurted out, taking the matted-down towel and folding it on the desk. "From Sakura. She called me this morning. Been having some nightmares recently?" Ino nodded. "Yeah, I got a nightmare of my own, although it's more of the weird sort than horrific."

She cleared her throat and realigned herself properly in her chair. "Shall we begin?"


	15. Chapter 15

"I went back to the war."

"Back to the medical camp?"

"Yes. One of the emergency tents. Overcrowded, loud, and the air…" Ino shivered just recalling back to that damming moment. "I can still feel the air in that tent."

"And this nightmare…has it become recurring?"

"Not yet."

Tsunade breathed out her nose. Like a great deal of veterans after the war, Ino had become stricken with PTSD. Most of the medical officers that suffered the same symptoms had gone under the radar thanks to several reasons: self-diagnosis, self-medication, and several just believed that the trauma would fade by itself over time. Tsunade only met two other medical officers that actually admitted they had PTSD and wanted professional help.

"I'm already in the tent." Ino continued on to explain the dream in more detail. "There's barely any room to move around. On my left is a chunin who had her leg ripped off by a wolf. Next to her is her son, who's currently fighting for his life after nearly being eaten by the same wolf." Ino gulped. She could clearly recall where exactly the bites wounds were and how deep they went into the eleven-year old's flesh.

"You don't need to recall it." Tsunade stated, rapping a ruler against the side of the desk to get Ino back into reality. "At least for now. Today, I think it would be easier if we were to work our way to that point." Ino, clearly disturbed but starting to land her feet back into reality, nodded and leaned back to relax in her chair. "Tell me. Do you want to get better?" Ino again nodded. "Good. It's going to be a long road, but I know you will pull through."

"Thank you for putting up with me." Ino muttered. Tsunade took a quick second to consider her plan. A combination of depression and PTSD is a deadly one that will require great care and attention. It wouldn't take much to snap Ino in half and it would take a great effort to keep her together and fix her. The poor blonde girl looked so worn down…it looked like she would just collapse at a moment's notice.

"Sakura told me the two of you had a good experience the other day. Went around town, just the two of you, shopping and enjoying some quality time."

"It was nice." Ino meekly admitted.

"Can…could you provide more details? Perhaps talk about something specific that happened during your time with Sakura?"

Ino looked down in thought and slowly breathed through her nose. "Me and Sakura…were looking at some coats. Something that would keep us warm in the fall season, something that could…last for a good amount of time, and it had to look halfway decent...we didn't want to wear something that made us look like complete idiots."

"You went to that bargain bin place in the middle of the town, right?"

"Yeah…we hoped to find one of those diamonds in the rough. Hinata found one of her jackets there, so we helped to have some luck with that. We didn't…" Tsunade held her breath, hoping that Ino wouldn't go on a tirade against herself. "…but I figured if I did find something from there, it wouldn't last." She sighed.

"Let's set a goal for you." Tsunade started to write down on hr paper pad. "You want a new jacket. One that's comfy and fashionable. Now." Tsunade looked up to face Ino. "How will you get what you want?"

"Save money?" Ino just blurted out, not really answering the question.

"Okay." Tsunade nodded. "How do you plan on making the money?"

"Working some job?" Ino boringly waved her hand towards the question.

"What kind of job?" Tsunade tilted her head with a small smirk. "I know it's not the flower store, that money goes to supporting your family. You need a job that will earn you some mad money."

"One…that pays money?" Ino blankly replied.

Tsunade shook her head. "What kind of job do you want, right now? What work are you up for right now? Physical or mental?"

Ino blinked as she leaned forward. "…mental?" She asked.

"Paperwork, teaching?" Tsunade gave two examples. "It would help you jog your mind back into working gear. Or if you want, we can get you a job that can get you back in shape. You can earn the money you need for the new coat as well as get you back to being healthy again."

"Shouldn't I take things slow?" Ino questioned. "If I overexert myself, I could wind up in a worse place that I was before."

"Let's start out small and work up." Tsunade affirmed. "Like, moving boxes and organizing paperwork. Simple, easy stuff. After that, you can move up to tougher jobs. It will help you to get back into shape."

"I guess." Ino yawned. By the look of her face, she was clearly that one back. Tsunade averted her gaze for a bit to avoid getting infected with the yawn virus. She had enough problems with her sleep as it is. "You know any openings?"

"I could use a little help myself." Tsunade admitted without actually thinking. Yeah, make the depressed girl who sheltered you from the rainstorm work for you. Might as well have Ino send her a hotel bill. Tsunade already had Shizune, and she could easily do the work of five people in a single hour, sometimes double that work!

…but then again…Shizune could use a vacation. A good long one, one where she could have someone take care of her for once. Plus, having Ino doing simple household chores in her own home would make it easier to gauge her progress. Tsunade wouldn't force Ino to do anything too strenuous, just the stuff she would normally do at home.

"…Tsunade?" Ino asked, sounding incredibly impatient.

"Oh." Tsunade shook her head to get herself back into reality. "Yes, I need to send my assistant on a vacation. She really does deserve one. You could stay with me for a few days, and help me keep the place from falling apart. Nothing too extreme, I'm not expecting you to file my taxes and clean my bathroom…just to help out with normal household chores. I'll gladly pay you for your efforts, as well for other luxuries."

"Sure." Ino merely agreed. "Whatever."

"All right." Tsunade sighed. It was going to be a uphill battle to get Ino back into working shape. At this point, she was too listless to barely move. "I'll contact your mother and explain the situation to her. Make sure to get everything you would need, we might get rained in again."

"Sure." Ino repeated.

Tsunade kept on smiling. Baby-steps.


	16. Chapter 16

She figured that a backpack was all she needed. At least two days of clothes, not counting the ones she would wear to go Tsunade's house. A small bag of bathroom necessities, including her favorite bottle of chocolate-scented shampoo. Three books, ones she read before but wouldn't mind reading again. A drawing pad and two sharpened pencils, and finally a small bag of makeup…if the reason to use it ever came around.

Ino stared herself in the mirror. In her current state, she considered herself to be ugly. Her skin was white and faded, bags under her eyes were large and turning purple, and her eyes weren't faring as well; she started to see things in double, and thick red layers start to develop on her eyes.

She doubted that staying over at Tsunade's house would actually fix anything. But here she was, carrying a bag of what she needed for a sleepover at the Hokage's house. Ino lifted the backpack up and put it on. Regardless of how she felt about the situation, she was still going on with it. Ino didn't think about it as she descended down the stairs to go say 'good-bye' to her mother.

"Got everything?" She asked as she spotted Ino at the base of the staircase.

"Yeah." Ino repeated her new catchphrase.

"I do something for you." Her mother stated as she handed Ino a small red book. "It's my recipe book, or at least a copy. You could try cooking as a way…"

"Yeah." Ino again repeated, snatching the recipe book out of her mom's hands. "Thanks." She at least added. Her mother didn't remark and kept silent as Ino shoved the book into her backpack and went out the door.

Above her laid the constant threatening grey clouds, thick as ever and dotting out as much sunlight as possible. Ino looked up and muttered something under her breath about how she was just used to this. She strolled through the town, passing by people readying for the next downpour. Some called out for her, but she ignored them. Not out of spite, she just though she had nothing to really to talk about in a conservation.

"Ah, Ino!"

But this person did get her attention. After all, Sakura was waving over to her and approaching. "Hey." Ino huffed out.

"I heard that you and Tsunade are going to be spending some time together." Sakura asked. "Got any special plans?"

"Working." Ino interjected. "Just helping her out at home as part of my treatment or something."

"That's great!" Sakura cheered, lightly pounding Ino on the shoulder. "Can I help you carry your things?"

"Got it." Ino shrugged, bouncing her backpack.

Sakura nibbled on her lip, trying to think of something to say. "…you're still underage, so if she shares any booze…"

"I won't take it." Ino shook her head, continuing on her route with a wave behind her to Sakura. Ino almost wanted to turn back and apologize, but she couldn't find the energy to say that. At least Sakura weakly waved to Ino, knowing what her friend was going through. Sakura decided that she would visit Ino at Tsunade's place later, probably bring her something nice.

Ino arrived on the doorstep of Tsunade's home and knocked thrice on the door. It took twenty seconds for Tsunade to rush to the door to open it, but to Ino, it felt like four minutes. "Hello!" Tsunade waved at Ino as she opened the door. "Had a nice walk?"

"Yeah."

Tsunade kept to herself a joke about getting Ino a thesaurus. "Come in." She stood out of the way to let Ino come in. She merely walked in, taking in the place with a slow glance around. Old fashioned, both in look and smell. A hint of booze hung in the air, meaning that Tsunade just had a drink…of three. Ino kept a dirty thought to herself as she went in and threw her backpack onto the couch.

"I have a guest room, you don't have to sleep on the couch." Tsunade pointed to a ajar door that revealed a basic room with a bed, a dresser with a mirror and two nightstands. Ino sighed through her nose as she collected her backpack and threw it into the room, knocking into the door on the way in. "You can unpack later." Tsunade muttered. "Anyway!" She clapped her hands together. "I best show you where everything is kept, this way." She went off towards the kitchen, with Ino dully following behind.

Tsunade went all the way into the back of the kitchen and opened a tall cabinet. Inside were all the cleaning supplies you would ever need; vacuum cleaner, mop and bucket, dust wiper, and various bottles and cans of the different cleaners. "Here's everything. I'll require you to mop the kitchen at the end of everyday, and vacuum every other day during the noon. Make sure to dust first. Windows will need to cleaned as well, everyday, but do them at night."

"Mmm-hhh." Ino merely acknowledged.

"Also…" Tsunade whistled. A loud yet happy oink vibrated into the kitchen as Tonton ran in. "You'll have to make sure Tonton is given everything she needs: food, water…cleaning her…"

"You want me to clean a pig." Ino blankly stated.

"Yes…in both cleaning her and cleaning after her. Daily." Tsunade admitted, pointing to a big cardboard box that held disposable giant bags. Suddenly, Ino did get a little more color to her cheeks. Just not a good color.

"As for bathrooms, once a week." Tsunade continued as they left Tonton to eat his kibble. "Your room does have one bathroom, but only a toilet. If you want to take a bath, you'll have to use the one upstairs."

"So, clean the floors, clean the pig, clean the bathroom." Ino summarized. "That's it?"

"Don't forget windows." Tsunade reminded her guest. "Also, that doesn't count the office work. That will be the majority of work you will be doing for me during your stay. Mostly filing and some light typing, just simple work. The work hours will be from…" Tsunade put a finger on her chin, meaning she was making everything up as she went along. "…are from 7 to 7."

"AM to PM?" Ino asked, whiter than before and her eyes now wide.

"You're lucky." Tsunade snapped her fingers. "Shizune usually starts work two hours earlier and stops two hours later. We got to get you going, and the first step is easy. We need to get you on a easy sleeping schedule. You go to bed at 9 PM, and get up at 6 AM. Nine to ten hours of sleep should be enough for you."

"12 hours of work." Ino groaned.

"There's breakfast, lunch, dinner and another break. Breakfast at 9, lunch at 12, dinner at 5, break at 3. The non-meal break is only thirty minutes long." Tsunade filled in. "No work today, just relax. Have a sip of sake!"

"No thanks." Ino turned away from Tsunade, annoyed by the face that Sakura was able to predict the future.

"Perhaps I should demonstrate what you need to do with Tonton before I allow you to unpack." Tsunade waved to Ino as she went back to retrieve her little pig. Ino hung her head low as she once more followed Tsunade around the house. At least her depressive mood was getting overwhelmed by the sense of dread of having to do strenuous work. That's not to say the cure to depression is hard work, oh no.

But at least Ino's mind would have to be racing to do the work that Tsunade had planned for her, and that was a step up.


	17. Chapter 17

"Tonton! You stupid pig! Stop running!"

Ino roared out her frustration, much like how a lioness would if a giraffe kicked her to allow her prey to escape unscathed. Tonton at first wanted a bath, but once she landed in the water she squealed like the pig that she is and ran out of the tub and into the hallway. And because Ino had soaped up the water before putting in the pork, Tonton had become a speeding slippery shell of slaughter.

Ino raced after the soapy pig throughout the hallways of Tsunade's house. While Tonton knew all too well the consequences of damaging her master's property, Ino had no such care and used her rage to bulldoze past chairs, lamps, and anything else to get a good grip on that damn pg. Nobody valuable broke, mostly due to Tsunade's foresight that a mood-swinger and a naughty pig would lead to some trouble. She didn't expect that the damage would go this far out…

Three days in, and Ino already wanted to murder that damn pig. She started calling it, at least in her head and not out loud to the damn pig's owner, that damn pig. While she did manage to bathe it twice so far, she still hated it. She hated. Every. Moment. Of. It. Tonton clearly was messing around with her, and that damn pig knew it.

Ino saw a opportunity to properly grab Tonton. She launched herself forward like a football player with her hands out and dug her rubbed-down nails into Tonton, effectively bringing the destructive chase to a end. Tonton squealed over and over, almost like she assumed it was time to become bacon. Ino growled like a satisfied cat who caught the rat as she dragged Tonton back to the tub.

At least Tonton finally stopped squirming, accepted the now cold water and allowed Ino to bathe her. "Okay, you're free to go." Ino sighed as she soon as she finished scrubbing away the last microspeck of mud. Tonton oinked and jumped out of the tub and landed on all fours, waiting to be toweled off. Ino quickly rubbed Tonton off and allowed her to go on her way.

Ino dumped the dirty water outside. Not that mattered where she threw the pig water, the torrent of endless water had come back so the slightly grimy water quickly got drowned out by the other water. Ino threw the towels into the washroom basket without really looking, so they ended up splayed all over the basket instead of inside of it. Ino walked past a mirror and noticed that her outfit had became dirtied with mud and pig prints. Groaning, she stripped off the white t-shirt and jean shorts and tossed them through the ajar door to her room. It was a mistake to only bring a limited set of outfits with her.

Ino looked down at the mirror again, seeing if her cute pink underwear set had any smears. Nope, clean. Ino could hear the sound of the one running shower in the entire house, so Tsunade must be taking a midday shower to calm down and relax from all of the work. Given the fact she spent half of a hour in the shower, Ino decided to not get dressed and instead parade around in her underwear for a bit, at least until Tsunade turned off the shower.

Yes, rebellion! Ino strutted around the house, letting the furniture and Tonton view her in all of her near-nakedness glory. And Tonton was merely confused; she lived with two females and this was a generally normal thing for her (At least whenever Tsunade got drunk, which is normal) the only reason she felt confused was because of a stranger doing this. Ino flexed and posed in front of the mirror, silently complementing herself.

As she walked into the living room, the fashion show stopped and reality set in. The room was so in disarray, it was hard to tell if it was ever clean in the first place! Ino let out a whimper as she saw the various chairs, the two tables, the stands, and the other furniture all over-turned. And there was the wet tracks of Ino and Tonton marking the carpets. Ino frantically went to work setting everything back up in place, or at least what she remembered.

Looking up every so often, Ino spotted that damn pig, seemingly laughing at her. This only made Ino angrier and more focused on getting the mess arranged properly. At least Tonton didn't try to enter the room and cause more mess.

It took her some time, but she finally did it. She returned the carpet cleaner back to the cabinet and rested against the side of the wall overlooking the living room. It…looked fine. Presentable, sittable. Hopefully Tsunade wouldn't notice…or if that damn pig didn't suddenly gain the ability to talk in human speech and tell what happened.

Ino rubbed her sore muscles to relax them. She actually looked forward to doing paperwork! Less strenuous, would keep her away from that damn pig. Ino groaned as the smell of sweat started to overpower her senses. Shaking her head, she went up the stairs so she could take a well-needed shower. The sounds of the shower already running went ignored by her as she opened the door and stepped inside.

"INO!"

"WOAH!" Ino went flying out of the bathroom in a huge shock of shock. Tsunade stepped out of the shower and slammed the door shut. Despite installing the lock to keep perverts out, the constant rain and Ino's arrival made Tsunade feel safe enough to leave the door unlocked. That changed!

Ino breathed heavily yet slowly. What she just saw…what she saw…wow. She thought all of the jokes that immature boys made about Tsunade's figure…and they were underestimating. She meant, well, she didn't see much, there's was steam. A lot of steam. But this wasn't one of Jiraya's PG-13 books where various bits and pieces would block the naughty bits…Ino clearly saw Tsunade's bits. In full detail.

…big.

After calming down a bit, Ino looked down and spotted the small fact that she was still in her underwear. She sighed and slowly went downstairs to go grab a clean set of clothes. On the way in, she grabbed her thrown clothes and properly set them in the hamper to be cleaned later. Well, now actually, she just used the last se of her clean clothes. She grabbed the hamper and went straight to the laundry room.

After dumping her clothes off in the washer, she went out into the hall, only to be encountered by a bathrobe-clothed Tsunade, including one wrapped around her hair. "Did you only bring three outfits?" She asked, being the first question she came up with. "Hmm. You could borrow of Shizune's clothes. They're around your size…and she wouldn't mind either. As long as you don't tear them up."

"Okay." Ino looked down, a visible blush on her cheeks. "Sorry." She also squeaked out.

"Don't worry about it." Tsunade sighed. "We're women, nothing to worry about." She huffed out a heavy sigh. "I really should consider adding a second shower, but the villagers would make a few complaints about me using funds to add something to my home. You could use it now…but after that, put some extra time into the office sorting the Baba file."

"Thanks." Ino coughed out as she headed towards the stairs to raid Shizune's closet and take a shower.

"Oh, Ino." Tsunade called out to stop her. "Cute underwear." Ino's face rushed blood red before she ran up the stairs to go, do her thing, and hide. Tsunade smirked as she went off to go and get dressed…only to remember that her room was upstairs, seeing how she went downstairs to embarrass Ino…


	18. Chapter 18

Any fear about Shizune's clothing causing any troubles were immediately forgotten once Ino put them on. Sure, they were a little small in certain areas…but they comfy and didn't interfere with her movements. If anything, the only real problem outside the lack of space in those areas were the lack of color on the outfit. Not really her thing.

But still, they allowed sifting through the Baba file and arranging everything alphabetically without her sleeves getting in the way, so she had no reason to complain. If anything, she wanted to complain about how boring the whole file sorting business ended up being. Just hours of sitting down, browsing through paper after paper after paper, correcting any mistakes, and then arranging them in the proper order. Really, really simple. The only effort she had to put into it was to make sure everything is arranged in the right order and the greatest amount of brainpower she had to use were to solve mistakes in math.

And this went on for hours. Followed by breakfast. Then back to work. Then lunch. More work. A short break. Then the last bit of work for the day before dinner and a few free hours before turning in for the night. That was her daily routine…this included tending to that damn pig.

"I could care less." Ino said out loud. "I could care so much less." Ino slowly blinked, folding her eyelids together. She then blinked several times to set her eyelid back to normal. Her eyes felt heavy, even itching a little. She took slow breaths as she tried to steel herself from falling over onto the nice, flat table…and taking a well…deserved nap…

Ino lifted up head off the table sharply. No use trying to keep herself awake…the battle was up a steep slope with no holds for her hands nor her feet. She looked around the office area. Looks like Tsunade stepped out…or, given the neverending showers, went off to fart in another room.

Over the last couple of days of living with Tsunade, Ino became a bit paranoid about her host. Seemingly? It felt as if Tsunade was just throwing all of the work on her. The filing, the sorting…the dealings with that damn pig…all of it just felt like a excuse for some easy slave labor. In fact…Ino hadn't really talked to Tsunade in a while. Nothing more than simple greetings in the morning and a 'good night' in the evening. Ino had been stewing anger for quite some time.

And you know what? The Baba file isn't going to fly out of the window, or anything for that matter. And besides…the whole village is on a personal lockdown due to the shower and flooding, so it's not like Mister Baba is going to walk in here and demand for his file without drowning. And the showers weren't going to end for a while anyway…so, in Ino's mind at least, doing this work is pointless!

She slammed her pen down, letting it bounce off the desk and onto the floor. Ino got up, let out a big wide yawn, and scurried over to the nearby couch. Usually, Tsunade would crash on the couch during a long work session, but seeing how she delegated all of the work onto Ino, it made sense if the hard working individual got to sleep on the couch.

Ino practically threw herself down onto the couch, face-first into the cushy arm. Her tired mind didn't take long to go into sleep mode. Ino's mind wandered away into a inky-black void. While it felt like she was only keeping her eyes closed the entire time…at least no one was yelling at her…

"GET UP!"

Ino jumped, now fully awake. She turned in her place to face the person that just yelled at her and found it to be a furious-looking Tsunade. "Ino!" She screeched again.

"I only took a break!" Ino retorted. "Just a small one, yeesh…"

"The papers!" Tsunade cried out, pointing towards the window. Once Ino bothered to look over, her eyes went wide in shock. A window had been thrown open and the rain had been pouring into the room and ruining the carpet. Even worse, papers were flying out of the window and into the rainy world outside. "The papers!" Tsunade repeated as she rushed off to go and collect the flying papers.

Ino jumped up and went towards the window to both close it and grab any paper that were flying her way. In a frantic panic, Ino just snatched and crumpled all the papers in her hand without a care as to what the papers contained. Tsunade followed suit as she took whatever she could reach with your hands.

Once Ino finally got around to closing the window, she stumbled over to the desk and put the soggy and ruined papers onto the desk. "You shouldn't be taking a break without permission." Tsunade growled. "Stuff like this can happen at any moment…and Mister Baba will be very upset that his pension was literally washed away…"

"I'm sorry." Ino dejected, feeling actual remorse for her actions. "I'm sorry." She repeated as she shuffled the papers around. As she worried that things might be far worse than what they currently appeared to be, she looked at the papers to see the damage. Only to notice…

"These papers are bank." Ino blankly stated. "Did some printer paper get caught up…" When she looked up to face Tsunade, she noticed the wicked, awful grin on her host's face. It didn't take long for Ino to scowl and sneered, "You."

"You sleep like a rock." Tsunade ineffectively held back her laughter. "Gave me enough time to move the important stuff out and place all the spare printer paper in here." She smiled and tilted her head. "Looks like you won't be sleeping on the job next time." She let out a sharp laugh.

"Lady Tsunade…" Ino looked inside. "You just littered. On purpose. And you have fines up to five thousand ryo…"

"Oh." Tsunade kept her smile on and her head titled, but was clear that all the joy of the situation had joined the papers outside in the rain. "We should go and get them."

"Right now?"

"Yeah, knowing our luck, those papers will come back to bite us."

This only served to make Ino even more annoyed with her host. Not only did she became the butt of a lame practical joke, she had to go outside into the pouring rain and clean up the mess that Tsunade made in the first place. Sure, Tsunade this time was actually helping, but Ino couldn't help but feel she was picking more of the papers than Tsunade.

"Real great joke." Ino snared as she chased after a sheet rolling around. "Let's give the assistant a panic attack by thinking some important files were blow into the rain." She grunted as she dived onto the paper to catch it. "Do you pull this stunt with Shizune?"

"I admit, I didn't think things through!" Tsunade shouted over the roaring wind. Seems as if nature really wanted to make the job of litter retrieval as impossible as it could go. "Normally I wouldn't go this far with Shizune…"

"Because she gets paid by you!"

"I'm paying you too!"

"Not as much!" Ino snarled as rolled the papers together into a soggy, messy ball. "You took advantage of a traumatized woman for some cheap labor!" She tossed the ball into a nearby puddle, where it promptly floated for a second before sinking. "You think I enjoy taking care of that stupid pig?!"

"I'm only trying to get you back into working shape!" Tsunade shouted back, walking over to Ino, her footsteps squishing into the wet ground. "I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry! I just wanted…"

"Something for you!" Ino roared above Tsunade. "You wanted something JUST FOR YOU!" She stomped on her way back to the house, only to trip over a tree root hidden in a dark puddle. Ino landed into a even bigger puddle face-first, dropping all the papers and soaking in a great deal of mud and water. "Ugh!" Ino groaned as she lifted herself up. "Greedy bitch!" Ino remarked as she left the papers in the water to go and deal with her own problems.

Tsunade stood out there in the rain. Maybe she pushed the girl a bit too far. Her lack of sleep combined with her nightmare only served to turn her into a sour individual. If Tsunade were really paying attention to Ino's progress instead of treating the whole thing like a happy houseparty…and making Ino deal with a pet she never dealt with before. Really, she expected a traumatized woman to do around the same work as a loyal and longtime assistant? Keeping her busy seemed to be like the best idea…

Tsunade waited a bit outside underneath the overhang, letting her soaked clothes drizzle over the porch. Figured it would be safer to let Ino deal with her own wet clothes first, give her some much-needed breathing room. It also allowed Tsunade to consider her new plan of action. Obviously, the rain wasn't going to let up anytime soon. She and Ino were stuck together regardless of how one felt for the other. The boat was already rocking, so Tsunade needed a plan to keep it the boat from turning turtle.

Once the lights in Ino's second floor room went on, Tsunade started to undress as she walked in and throw in her soggy clothes into the hamper. Grabbing a dry towel, she wrapped it around her and went straight towards her room for bed. Perhaps a good nights sleep will change things, or at least give everyone a better mood to tackle any problems ahead.


	19. Chapter 19

Her entire body shook in slight, yet annoying pain. Her muscles in all four limbs felt sore, her eye felt itchy, her eyelids felt light and couldn't stay close for too long, her thoughts were all cloudy and pressing hard against her forehead, her nose felt stuffed and made breathing difficult, her throat felt such a soreness that couldn't be fixed with a ice-cold glass of water…Ino felt like shit to be frank.

Another dreary night in the dreary house with the absolute dreary weather. Ino wanted the damned weather to end so she can finally escape this hovel. But until then, she would have to endure another long and uncomfortable night. Tossing and turning, flipping and flopping about, all to find that one comfy cool spot so she could relax her body and finally fall into a nice slumber. If she were lucky…she MIGHT get at least six hours of sleep.

Ino didn't want to discuss this with Tsunade. At this point, all her respect for the Hokage had been shot and left in the gutter to rot. Any advice she could offer to fix this situation would be worthless on Ino's ears. Ino's trust in Tsunade had fallen so far, even if the Hokage pulled out a magic potion to induce sleep, she wouldn't take it. After all, the last course of treatment that Tsunade did went SO well!

She laid on her back, her head laying on the edge of her pillow. The last bit of the coolness from that spot faded quickly, so she flipped the pillow over. Now feeling uncomfortable on her back, Ino flipped herself over to lie her face down on the pillow, making sure that her nose isn't pressed down to further block her breathing. This lasted a good minute before her body demanded to switch positions. So Ino went on her side…and this position became short-lived as she returned to lying on her back.

Not helping matters were the bedsprings. The bed itself had plenty of years on it already, but what Ino put it through would have done the same damage to even a new bed. They had been pushed to and beyond their limits by the person who laid in it absolute refusal to remain still. And whenever Ino got angry with her failure to fall asleep, she bounce up and down for a few seconds and let out a hoarse moan. And now the springs creaked and squeaked whenever Ino made a slight movement on top of it.

But as Ino got through the troublesome nights, she got used to the sounds. One less thing to worry about while trying to get some sleep. But while she was to this, Tsunade was not. The sounds penetrated right through the ceiling and it echoed throughout Tsunade's room and her ears. Given what happened a few days ago, Tsunade had been giving Ino plenty of room and space for her to try and calm down. She had been very patient with Ino's many outbursts and all of the noises coming from her room at night. That, and she had been using her powers to ease herself into slumber.

But things had to change. Tsunade was getting tired of this. She needed to clean the mess she made. Ino needed help and Tsunade had to actually provide it. Tsunade tossed aside the covers and danced out of her bed and ran downstairs to Ino's room. She slowed down once she got to the bottom floor as to not warn Ino of her approach. She instead let the barging through the guest room door do that.

"WHAT!" Ino screeched as she jumped up, letting her covers fall off the bed.

"Ino, this has got to stop!" Tsunade announced with her authoritative voice "You came here to get help and I have been negligent in my duties."

"And this is going to help me?" Ino screeched pointing to the clock. "It's eleven at night!"

"And we're both awake." Tsunade groaned as she stretched her back to clear the aches. "I don't think we're going to get much sleep until we try to resolve the matter at hand. That, and getting you to sleep in a different bed; aren't you annoyed with the springs?"

"I got used to it." Ino breathed out. "So, I'm being moved to the couch, huh?"

"No, my bed." Tsunade pointed up. "I'll take over the couch…or…" Tsunade scratched behind her head at the base of her skull as a new idea entered her head. "…this is going to sound really weird, but there might a easier solution to your nightmare issue…"

Tsunade paused and let the air settle before Ino interjected with, "What?"

"…we could share the bed." Tsunade managed to get out. Ino turned noticeably red with a awkward frown. "There's really no better way of phrasing that." Tsunade sighed as she sat down on Ino's bed. "This is nothing sexual. I'm just being your bunkmate so you won't feel alone."

"Yeah, that's causing my nightmares." Ino moaned out loud, once more looking at the clock. "Me being alone in bed." She threw up her hands in annoyance. With her vision clearing, she noticed that Tsunade dressed in a rather revealing way. Tiny t-shirt and panties? Maybe she's was dreaming this…no way would the Hokage dressed in such a scanty manner…

"It's not the cause, but at the same time it's also keeping the nightmares going." Tsunade shook her head. "You're isolated yourself. You need to be around someone, to remember that you're not alone." Ino pouted at the idea, silently calling it stupidly whimsical. "You need to feel comfortable with your surroundings again. Let me help you."

"Maybe you should just sleep on the floor while I sleep on the bed." Ino pointed out. "It's ridiculous to think that sharing a bed with you will make everything better…"

"Then I'll sleep on the floor." Tsunade outright admitted, actually surprising Ino. "As long as we're close, it should be fine."

Ino stared blankly at Tsunade for a few seconds, trying to get her thoughts together in her deluded state. She figured this had to be a last-ditch effort to 'fix' her or at least regain some trust. Or maybe Tsunade just didn't want Ino to go around and saying that the Hokage was bad at her job. Or even Tsunade was just sick of hearing the badsprings. Ino hung her head and said: "Sure."

"Come on then." Tsunade got up. "Tomorrow, I'll look at the guest bed and see if I can fix it up." Ino sighed as she got up and followed behind Tsunade up to her room with blurry eyes. Ino barely managed to get up the stairs in her state. Tsunade looked back as she got up the stairs, following Ino up to make sure she didn't fall down. Ino managed to get up and get to Tsunade's room without incident.

Tsunade opened her closet door and pulled out the spare pillow and blanket she usually kept for cold winter nights. She threw the pillow down, and laid down with the blanket on top of her. "Let's hope we can both have a good night's sleep." Tsunade yawned as she laid down and closed her eyes. While the floor weren't the most comfortable, Tsunade quickly got settled in.

Ino breathed out her nose as she walked over to Tsunade's bed. It looked comfy enough, if worn down looking and matted all over thanks to Tsunade's constant turning to try and get some sleep, bit still, more comfy looking than the guest bed. She climbed in and got into the middle, pulled the covers up and laid her head down on the pillow.

Indeed, the experience was far more better. It didn't trap so much heat and generally felt cool. Ino breathed in and out at a slow and relaxing pace, trying to keep herself comfortable. Soon she was able to go into a soft rest. But then the decaying arms came out of the darkness and crawling over to her from all sides. Ino's face scrunched up in pain as she could once more hear the cries of the damned and dying…

"Tsunade." Ino asked with her eyes still closed. Ino didn't wait for a response, only for the shuffling of the blanket. "If it would help, you can hop into the bed." Ino then rolled over to the right side of the bed.

"I'll stay to my side of the bed." Tsunade told as she rose up. Ino could feel the compressing of the still working bedsprings as Tsunade laid down on the other side of the bed. "Good night, Ino." She told as she stopped moving about and laid still.

Ino at first didn't care about Tsunade's presence on the bed. Just less room on the bed for the two of them, so hopefully Tsunade wasn't a roller. But as Ino went back into slumber, she did feel something. Even as the zombies came crawling after her, she thought to herself: "_Tsunade is next to me. If anything happens, she can help me."_

And so, for the first time in what seemed to be a very long time, Ino wandered off into a nice slumber. And without her thrashing about on the bed, Tsunade too got some sleep. While they did slumber on for the rest of the night and into the morning, their unconscious bodies did act without neither being made aware.

As Ino had guessed before, Tsunade was indeed a roller. Tsunade rolled across the invisible line separating the two halves of the bed, and bumped against Ino's body. As luck, and perverted writing, would have it, Tsunade's upper body was just in the right place for Ino's head to lay down on top of Tsunade's more-than-ample breasts. A very comfortable pillow indeed.

And in Ino's mind, she got taken away from the usual nightmarish place into…a very warm heaven. But unlike the bad warmness of the bed, this felt nice. Ino let out a deep sigh as her body finally relaxed all of the tension away as she imagined herself going to sleep between two giant fluffy pillows…


	20. Chapter 20

Ino woke to the lovely sight of being pressed in-between two breasts.

After realizing her situation, Ino realized she woke to the horrifying sight of being pressed in-between Tsunade's breasts.

She almost panicked and quickly pulled out, but she kept herself stuck in so she could slowly and carefully retract her head out without awakening Tsunade. A slight pop later and she was safely away. Tsunade didn't even stir. Seems like the years of sleeping while drunk turned the Hokage into a heavy sleeper. Ino didn't stop being careful despite Tsunade remaining still and slowly removed herself from the bed.

Ino considered last night. She just slept with Lady Tsunade...just regular sleep and not like how a couple would do it. Like a mother and daughter! That's the better explanation. Regardless of how it's explained, Ino couldn't deny the fact that having Tsunade nearby did help her sleep. She couldn't recall her having any nightmare once she and Tsunade got together…no, not like that…

There's no denying it. No matter how she tried to phrase it, it's going to sound like she and Tsunade just had comfort sex.

Ino walked into the hallway and gingerly closed the door behind her. She stretched her back, legs, and arms as she considered what to do today. For once, she felt pretty energized in the morning. Ah, the effects of a good night's sleep! Maybe she should try to do something special for breakfast to continue the trend of actually starting the morning out right.

Another surprise came in the form of what time she had awoken. Before eight? And she felt this fine? Ino even put on a small smile as she let out a little throat laugh. Maybe that's all she needed, someone to cuddle with. She shook her head as she opened a cabinet to come up with a idea for breakfast. A box of pancake mix laid on the edge on the middle shelf of the cabinet. Ino even checked the fridge and found a small package of bacon and a half full carton of eggs. Perfect.

Tsunade awoke to a heavenly smell. The scent of cooking bacon floated around her nostrils and dragged her out of bed. Tsunade walked out of her room and down to the kitchen. There, she saw Ino shuffling around the kitchen counter in the middle as she worked on three different things. Pancakes on the portable griddle next to the sink, bacon in the microwave, and the eggs being made scrambled in the pan on the stove. When Ino turned around to return to the griddle to flip the pancakes, Tsunade got a look at her face. She looked fairly normal, if a bit tired looking from rushing around. While the stress of her lack of sleep still appeared on her face, she looked a lot better than usual.

"Good morning." Ino yawned out loud. "Breakfast will be ready in a few. You could help me set the table."

"Sure." Tsunade breathed out. "Let me get the syrup out too."

Tsunde sighed out a breath of relief as she opened the pantry to find and dig the different flavors of syrup out. Okay, this is clearly working, for now. Tsunade wondered if the only way to keep Ino in a good state is to share a bed together. Sounded incredibly silly to even think….but Tsunade took a second to consider how this could said with a straight voice.

Ino lost someone very important to her while dealing with a near endless series of tragedies working in the medical field during a war. She then became despondent; kept to herself and spent a great day of time in her own room. Ino needed someone to trust…someone close to her…

"Lost?" Ino snarked.

"A little." Tsunade joked back, quickly grabbing the available bottles of syrup: original and blueberry.

The bacon got a little burned, but for the most part it was nice and crispy. The pancakes and scrambled eggs were nice and fluffy; plus the eggs had a little spice to them. "Delicious." Tsunaded commented as she wiped away a little smeg of egg over her lips.

"Thank you." Ino bowed. "I'll handle the dishes…"

"I can do that." Tsunade jumped up. "Why don't you get dressed and relax for a bit? I'll think of what we can do today." Ino nodded, got up, and went towards the guestroom to go and change. "Hey wait." Tsunade breathed out, having just thought of something. "Would you like to move into my room?" Ino blinked a few times. "What I mean, we both know how things went…so maybe…?"

"Sure." Ino shrugged. "I'll do that after I change." She rolled her head back and forth a bit before going into the guest room.

Tsunade let out a deep yawn. Things are going pretty well. Ino's in more cooperative mood. Tsunade needed to keep this going. Nice and easy. Don't make Ino work too hard but don't keep her idle. She made breakfast without anyone asking her; so Tsunade needed to only nudge her rather than try to make her do work. If Ino wanted to do something, than Tsunade should try to encourage her. Besides menial tasks such as washing dishes…which she SHOULD be doing before the syrup dries.

As Ino took off her shirt and Tsunade tested the water's temperature, both of them thought about last night. While Tsunade whimsy considered that something naughty might have happened, Ino worried about that she did something naughty to Tsunade besides snuggling in-between her breasts. Hopefully she will never know the truth. But the fact that she started this morning out in the middle of a buxom lady's cleavage was enough to spook her.

But while the two had different thoughts about what happened, they did have a same conclusion.

Is there a deeper relation to this than they thought?


	21. Chapter 21

So many questions. So many conflicting questions. Ino didn't want to consider them at all, she would rather prefer if they all would suddenly vanish.

Wishful thinking at its finest.

Ino sighed as she shelved a green book about laws back onto the bookshelf. While the fiasco of what happened the last time she was in the office still hung over the heads of both inhabitants, Ino decided to continue working in the office. Tsunade opted to lessen the workload and not play any stupid pranks. So now Ino just tidied the place up; rearranging the place, sorting papers, cleaned up any messes…basically Ino had become a glorified maid.

Which lead to a weird thought. Really weird. It was her in a very revealing maid uniform. But that's the normal part. She would often fantasized about dressing up in sexy outfits to impress a sexy boy…but the boy in this case is played by Tsunade in a business outfit.

Ino had to give herself a slap to the cheek to return to reality.

The first question Ino wanted to answer is: when did she become attracted to girls? She never considered these sort of thoughts before. She and Sakura have been close friends for decades, but not once has she ever considered Sakura anything more than a great friend. And Tsunade? At first, Ino considered her to be a annoying intrusive hag when Tsunade first arrived in the village. Over time Ino found her to be a hag, but a smart one. With the war and all the horrible events, Ino found Tsunade to be a terrific leader. And now, after sleeping in bed…

…no, no, no. You didn't sleep with Tsunade. You just shared a bed…that's the same thing.

"You slept with Tsunade." Ino softly admitted to herself. "There's no denying it."

At least Tsunade wasn't in the room. She would have never let that die. It almost seemed like the Hokage already knew what happened. Tsunade had been in a wonderful mood lately. A smile had been plastered to Tsunade's face and wouldn't go away. She had been way more lenient over things as well; the burnt bacon, Ino neglecting to do some of her duties…it's like she really did know.

Ino continued shelving all the spare books into their original spot on the shelves. Mundane work, but at least it kept her busy for a hour. With the clock hitting close to lunch time, Ino opted to stop work for now and go down for a quick lunch. A pretty drowsy

A surprise awaited for her in the kitchen.

Tsunade normally either wore her usual Hokage outfits during the day. And there she stood…in a white t-shirt and white panties, what she wore during bed. And helping this sight were Tsunade's ass sticking out as she went into the cabinet under the sink. Ino's eyes went wide at the sight. Just a hour ago, she wore normal clothes. She changed into…this.

"What happened?" Ino asked, her voice had a hint of confusion in it.

"Oh." Tsunade turned around to face Ino. "My outfit? Yeah, a pipe under the sink burst." She held up a wrench. "Apparently a bone got caught sideways in the pipe and gunk started to build on it. Started to make a really weird noise whenever water ran down it. So I opened it up and well…" She made motions to her chest. That had to be pleasant. "At least my clothes caught the blast of goop. But the rest of my good clothes are either in the wash or are too good to stain. So…"

"Don't you…" Ino started before stopping herself. She didn't want to insult Tsunade…especially after the conflicting thoughts about her weird attraction to Tsunade. "…feel cold?"

"Nah." Tsunade shook her head as well as the wrench. "And we're both girls, so there's no shame in it. You saw me before like this." She gave her hips a quick shake. Ino managed to hide her…pleasure in watching that mini-dance.

Second question. Why Tsunade? Why not Sakura, Hinata, Tenten or even Temari? Sakura's her friend, Hinata is wisely considered to be the most beautiful girl in the village (A title that she cared very little for), Tenten had that wonderful charm and Temari is practically a man in a sexy lady's body. Tsunade is, at least, thrice her age. Not that she looked like that, she looked to be only five years older than Ino. That's skin-deep beauty at it's finest.

"Anyway, I can handle this by myself. You took care of the office, yes?" Tsunade asked while pointing the wrench to Ino.

"Y-yeah." Ino got out. "I just came for a small lunch."

"Well, we don't have running water in that sink." Tsunade waved the wrench towards the faucet. "Other than that, everything is fine." She turned around, got down on her knees and looked into the cabinet.

Ino put on a blush as she once more saw the sight of Tsunade's plump ass. It seems that Tsunade put some chakra into both of a woman's two wonders. Ino swallowed as she went to the fridge to grab some turkey meat. A cold sandwich would take her mind off Tsunade. As she assembled her sandwich, she looked over to Tsunade, still working on the pipes.

Third question popped into her mind. What attracted her to Tsunade? The body? Many, many, people have expressed attraction towards Tsunade and her magnificent body. Boobs mostly. Nice ass tho'. And seeing how Ino only started to consider a attraction towards her same gender, it had to be something more than just boobs and butts. Ino at one point was jealous of Tsunade's body, but not now. In fact, it's almost mesmerizing…

Tsunade could feel someone starring at her. Tonton wouldn't do that, she knew better. But Ino? "Miss Yamanaka, is there something interesting…"

"Got to go!" Ino ran off with her sandwich in hand. If Tsunade hadn't banged her head on the top of the cabinet door while pulling out, she would have seen Ino's entire face turn a red comparable to a raspberry. Ino ran towards the guest room and shut the door while Tsunade clutched her head in pain.

The last two questions ran through Ino's head as she laid on her bed, her sandwich trapped in her claw of a hand. She would have to work up the appetite again after Tsunade almost caught her. And yes, she really ended up staring at Tsunade's ass. Why did she? It's almost like she's going through puberty again. So weird.

Fourth question, the penultimate. Where would this lead? Ino imagined herself having a family late in her life…would be kinda hard with a lesbian couple. Sure, there's plenty of orphans from the war…but Ino wanted to raise her own kid. And that's even considering if even Tsunade wanted to get into a serious relationship with her. Tsunade's last relationship ended badly. Really badly. And that's even thinking if Tsunade would be interesting having a same sex relationship.

Ino bit her lip as she considered her last question to herself.

How would she make Tsunade fall in love with her?


End file.
